3. Match the words (1-5) with the definitions (a-e).

1 expert witness

2 eyewitness

3 hostile witness

4 friendly witness

5 biased

A a person who saw what happened

B a professional who gives an opinion in a case

C a person who doesn’t support a client’s case

D having a preference for someone or something

E a person who favors the client’s case

4. Fill in the blanks with the correct words from the word bank.

statement qualifications credibility firsthand prejudiced

1 Martin is not a reliable witness because he didn’t see what

happened _________ .

2 Gordon is a suitable expert witness because he is well respected

and has university _________ .

3 Antonia has strong opinions, so the jury may find her too ____ .

4 Lawrence doesn’t know the client very well, so his comments

don’t have much ________ .

5 The paralegal typed up a ________ for the witness to sign.

5. Listen and read the text again. What did you learn from the

text?

6. Listen to a conversation between an attorney and a paralegal.

Choose the correct answers.

1 Why does the lawyer bring in the detective?

A She was an eyewitness.

B She could be an expert witness.

C She investigated his client’s crime.

D She recorded eyewitness statements.

2 What is the detective’s opinion of eyewitness statements?

A They can help a case.

B They are often confusing.

C They aren’t always reliable.

D They are the best type of evidence.

7. Listen again and complete the conversation,

Lawyer: Thanks for coming in, Detective. I’ll get to the point.

I need an 1_____ _____ .

Detective: I’d be 2 ______ to help.

Lawyer: Great. And just to confirm your 3 ______ , how long have

you been a police officer?

Detective: I’ve been on the force for fifteen years.

Lawyer: That’s good. Now, 4 ____ _____ say that my client was at

the scene of a crime.

Detective: But he wasn’t there?

Lawyer: No. He just looks like the suspect.

Detective: Well, eyewitness 5 _____ aren’t always 6 ____ .

Supplementary reading

The aims of law

Law is a system of rules a society sets to maintain order and protect harm to persons and property. Law is ancient, dating back to the Code of Hammurabi, written by an ancient Babylonian king around 1760 B.C. Law has several aims. One of the aims of law is to maintain order and resolve disputes that arise between individuals. The other aim is to impose responsibility if one person has a legal claim against another. Law makes society more stable and enables people to flourish. If people disobey the rules the law threatens them with something unpleasant (punishment or paying compensation).With laws people can live more securely.

Laws guarantee to people who buy and sell goods, make wills, take employment, form companies and so on that the state will enforce these arrangements. Law not only threatens those who do what it forbids but promises to protect people’s interests. It imposes restrictions on them but also gives them certain guarantees. A very important aim of law is to settle what the system of government is to be.

Governments make laws for their citizens, they use a system of courts and the police to enforce these laws. Laws are written by legislators.

The legal system

In England there are three main types of law: statute law, common law and European Union law.

Statute law

In theory the Legislature (Parliament) makes laws which are administered by the Executive (Her Majesty’s Government) and when there are disputes they are decided by the Judiciary (the judges and the courts).

Most new laws are initiated by the Government, although a few come from individual members of Parliament. A Bill is drafted and placed before Parliament. It receives three ‘readings’ in the House of Commons. The Bill is examined and amended, before passing on to the House of Lords which may reject it all or in part. The Lords cannot prevent the Commons from passing a Bill, but they can delay the process. Once a Bill has passed through all its stages in Parliament it goes to the Queen for the Royal Assent and becomes an Act of Parliament and the law of the land.

Common law

Common law originated in England. It is a system of laws that have been developed from customs and from decisions made by judges, not created by Parliament. English law relies on case law, a collection of previous decisions, called precedents. English courts look at precedents and make a similar decision.

European Union Law

In 1972 the United Kingdom entered the European Community (now the European Union).

There are four E.U. institutions: the Commission, the European Parliament, the Council of Ministers, the European Court of Justice.

European Union law is superior to the law of individual member states. In other words, if there is a conflict between the law of a state and that of the E.U., then the E.U. has to be obeyed.

Civil law, Common law, Criminal law

The term ‘civil law’ contrasts with both ‘common law’ and ‘criminal law’.

Civil law is 1) the legal system developed from Roman codified law; 2) the area of the law concerned with non-criminal matters.

Common law is the legal system which is the foundation of the legal systems of most of the English-speaking countries, based on customs and court decisions.

Criminal law is the area of the law which deals with crimes and punishments.

Civil law is opposed to common law as a legal system.

Civil law was inspired by old Roman law, the main feature of which was that laws were written into a collection and codified. The principle of civil law is to provide all citizens with a written collection of laws which apply to them and which judges must follow. In contrast, common law was originally developed through customs, at a time before laws were written down.

Common law is based on precedents created by judicial decisions. It means that past judgments are taken into consideration when cases are decided.

Civil law is opposed to criminal law as the body of law.

Civil law deals with rights of private citizens. Violation of these rights is a private wrong, or tort. Criminal law is the body of law setting limits of social conduct and forbidding unlawful actions. Violation of these laws is a public wrong, or wrong against society.

Enforcing the law

Governments have many ways of making sure that citizens obey the law. They make the public aware of what the law is and try to encourage social support for law and order. They use police forces to investigate crimes and catch criminals. They authorize courts to complete the investigation of criminal and civil offences and pass sentences to punish the guilty and deter others. And they make efforts to re-educate and reform people who have broken law.

The laws of all countries are to be found in written records – the legal codes of countries with continental systems, the statutes and case judgments of common law countries, warnings on official forms and notices in public buildings. Many people do not know where to find these records and do not find it easy to read them. But ignorance of the law is almost never a defense for breaking it. Governments usually expect citizens to be aware of the laws which affect their lives. Sometimes they seem very harsh, for example, when the law is very technical.

Police

Britain has 52 regional police forces, which are responsible for maintaining law and order in their own area. London has two police forces, the Metropolitan Police and the City of London Police. Each regional police force is led by a Chief Constable. Police officers wear dark blue uniforms, and constables wear tall hard helmets. The British police force is relatively small, with one police officer to every 400 people. Each police force has a Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of detectives. CID officers are chosen from the police. They do not wear uniforms and have the title Detective before their rank, e.g. Detective Inspector Jones. Individual police forces have other special units for areas such as traffic, child protection, etc. And there are also national police organizations, such as Special Branch which works to prevent terrorism. In 2004 the government announced the creation of a new national organization, the Serious Organized Crime Agency.

Courts.

British law is divided into civil law and criminal law. Civil law concerns disagreements between individuals about matters such as business contracts. Criminal law deals with offences. In civil cases, the plaintiff brings an action against the defendant in the hope of winning damages. Criminal cases are brought against criminals by the state.

In England most towns have a Magistrates’ court where minor criminal cases are judged by three magistrates called Justices of the Peace, specially trained members of the public. More serious cases are heard in a Crown Court by a judge and a jury. Minor civil cases, such as divorce and bankruptcy are heard in the county courts and more serious ones in the High Court of Justice. Appeals against decisions from the Crown Court or the High Court go to the Court of Appeal. A few cases, where a question of law is in doubt go to the House of Lords.