Text 3. Classification of Offences

I. Read and translate the text.

Offences can be classified into crimes and violations. A crime may be either a felony, or a misdemeanor.

A felony is a serious crime (murder, rape, treason, etc.). Felonies are punished by death or long-term imprisonment.

A misdemeanor is a less serious crime (battery, shoplifting, larceny of small sums, etc.). Misdemeanors are punished by less severe penalties, such as short-term imprisonment or a conditional sentence.

Violations are not crimes; they are punishable offences (parking in the wrong place, speeding, drunkenness in public places, etc.). Violations are not so dangerous to society as felonies and misdemeanors.

II. Questions to be answered.

1. What 2 categories can offences be classified into?

2. What is a felony?

3. What is a misdemeanor?

4. What are violations?

Text 4. A Crime and a Tort

I. Read and translate the text.

A crime is an act defined and punishable by law. No law is valid ex post facto. There is a distinction between a crime and a tort. A crime is an injury to society and a tort is an injury to an individual. If a person commits a crime, it is the state that brings him into court. If an individual wrongs another individual, it is his adversary that brings him into court.

An offence may be both a crime and a tort.

II. Questions to be answered

1. How is crime defined by law?

2. What is the distinction between a crime and a tort?

3. Who brings an offender into court in case of a crime and in case of a tort?

Text 5. Homicide

I. Read and translate the following text.

Homicide is the killing of one human being by another. There are 3 categories of homicide: criminal homicide, negligent homicide and justifiable homicide.

Criminal homicide may be either murder or manslaughter. Murder is a deliberate killing of one human being by another. Murder may be in the first degree and in the second degree.

Murder in the first degree is called a felony murder. A felony murder is committed during a serious crime (an act of terrorism, rape, robbery, arson).

Murder in the second degree is committed in a rage.

Manslaughter is the killing of a human being without malice.

Negligent homicide is a killing resulting from negligence, e.g. automobile negligence.

Justifiable homicide is a killing that can be justified, e.g. the killing of an enemy in the war or of a criminal trying to escape.

II. Questions to be answered.

1. What is the definition of homicide?

2. What are the 3 categories of homicide?

3. What are the 2 kinds of murder?

4. How does manslaughter differ from murder?

5. What does negligent homicide result from?

6. What is the characteristic feature of a justifiable homicide?

Text 6. Larceny

I. Read and translate the following text.

Larceny is another name for theft. It may be a felony and a misdemeanor. If the stolen property is valuable, it is a felony. If it is not valuable, it is a misdemeanor.

Property may be abandoned and lost. If you take abandoned property, it is not larceny, but if you take lost property, it is considered to be a case of larceny.

There is a distinction between grand larceny and petty larceny. Grand larceny is felonious larceny. Larceny which is a misdemeanor is called petty larceny.

II. Questions to be answered.

1. What is larceny?

2. In what cases is larceny defined as a felony or a misdemeanor?

3. How is taking abandoned or lost property defined in terms of larceny?

4. What is the distinction between grand larceny and petty larceny?