Linguists are serving as consultants to attorneys in matters involving language and law, and dialect specialists have been helpful in leading to the resolution of such cases. The cases described involve linguistic analysis of various types, but each involves use of regional or social dialects by one or more of the central figures in the case: the defendant, the prosecutor, or the law enforcement agent. Each case focuses on dialect actually used in court proceedings or in undercover conversations that were surreptitiously tape recorded, or on the dialect that might be expected to have been used by persons whose words have been reported, but not tape recorded, by the police. 4 references. (Author abstract modified)