II. Answer the following questions:

1. What is a court?

2. What powers have State courts?

3. What powers have Federal courts?

4. What are the two different levels of courts?

5. What does a trial court consist of?

6. What is the role of witnesses at the trial?

7. What is the role of lawyers at the trial?

8. What is an appellate court?

9. Do appellate courts hear witnesses or accept new evi­dence?

10. What is a transcript and appellate briefs?

11. What is a procedure in appellate courts?

12. What are possible decisions of appellate courts?

III. Match the synonyms to the following words:

court, n	a. justice, n
to establish, v	b. to comprise, v
criminal, n	c. testimony, n
authority, n	d. advocate, n
supreme, adj	e. lawful, adj
6. to involve, v	f. to settle, v
7. to testify, v	g. to interrogate, v
8. lawyer, n	h. trial, n
9. judge, n	i. lawbreaker, n
10. legal, adj	j. verbal, adj
11. claim, n	k. jurisdiction, n
12. evidence, n	1. petition, n
13. oral	m. highest, adj
14. question, v	n. to witness, v

IV. Insert the following words into the sentences below:

witnesses, appellate court, transcript, levels, power, decide, tribunal, attorneys, question

1. There are two different … of courts: trial courts and appellate courts.

2. A court is a … established to administer justice under the law.

3. State courts have … to decide cases involving state and local laws.

4. An …sometimes reviews decisions of a trial court when a party claims an error of law was made at the trial level.

5. The court may … civil disputes or criminal cases.

6. They examine the … - the word-for-word written record of what was said at the trial.

7. Then the appellate courts listen to oral arguments of the … and may … them about.

8. Unlike trial courts, appellate courts do not hear … or accept new evidence.

Text 2b

I. Read and translate the text using the words and word combinations after it: what is a procedure in a criminal action?

A criminal action is a lawsuit brought by the state (also known as the people) against a person accused of a crime. If found innocent the person is released. If found guilty, the person is sentenced by the judge. Under law, a person is presumed to be innocent until:

(l)guilt is admitted or,

(2)guilt is proven doubt in a competent court.

Codes of procedure specify in detail the conduct of a trial. This is done to protect the rights of the accused person

The first step is usually an investigation to determine who may have committed a reported crime. The investigators seek evidence to present in court. Usually an arrest warrant (written court order) must be issued by a court for the suspect to be arrested. Upon arrest, the suspect must be booked (fingerprinted and photographed). After the booking, a judge, in a preliminary hearing, determines whether the suspect shall be kept in jail or released on bail. Bail is a sum of money or property deposited or pledged to guarantee that the arrested person will appear for a preliminary hearing or trial. The amount in each case is set by the judge.

In some cases, the accused person may be released on his own recognizance. This means that the suspect promises to appear as scheduled without putting up bail. This usually happens if the accused is a reputable citizen with substantial assets.

For some minor offenses, including most traffic violations, the arresting officer may give the offending person a citation. This is a notice that identifies the offense and directs the person to:

1. appear in court at a specified time if he or she wants to dispute the charge or

2. pay a prescribed amount without appearing in court. The amount is a standardized fine for the offense.

In some states and at the federal level, an indictment by a grand jury is required before a person can be brought to trial for a felony (serious crime punishable either by death or by imprisonment for more than one year). An indictment is a written accusation, which declares that there is sufficient evidence to try the identified individ­ual for a specified crime. A grand jury is a group of citizens selected to hear, in secret, the evidence of alleged crimes submitted by the prosecutor.

One who has not been indicted by a grand jury is given a preliminary hearing before a judge. The purpose of the hearing is to determine from the evidence whether the accused person should be released or held for trial as charged offender. After the filing of the formal charge, the accused person is called the defendant. A defendant is the person against whom a criminal (or civil) action is brought. In a criminal action, the state -- the party bringing suit against the defendant — is known as the prosecution.

Before the criminal trial, the defendant is brought before the court to hear the formal charges. The defendant is also required to plead guilty or not guilty. This court proceeding is known as arraignment. If the defendant pleads guilty, the defendant is sentenced. If the plea is not guilty, the defendant must stand trial.

Vocabulary notes:

criminal action – уголовное дело	suspect - подозреваемый
guilt – вина, виновность	citation – повестка о вызове в суд
codes of procedure – процессуальный кодекс	notice – извещен ие, уведомление
arrest warrant – ордер на арест	indictment – обвинительное заключение
to presume – предполагать	grand jury – большое жюри; присяжные, решающие вопрос о предании суду
innocent – невиновный человек	formal charge – формальное обвинение
charged offender – обвиняемый	defendant – ответчик; обвиняемый, подсудимый
to plead guilty – признать себя виновным	to sentence – выносить приговор
to bring (take) an action – возбудить дело	to plead – обращаться с просьбой, ходатайствовать
to release on bail – отпустить под залог	plea – заявление, сделанное в суде одной из сторон
to pledge – отдавать в залог, закладывать	prosecution – обвинение (сторона в судебном процессе)
to book – регистрировать	arraingnment – привлечение к суду; предъявление обвинения
preliminary hearing – предварительное расследование (слушание) дела	to stand (undergo) trial – представать перед судом
recognizance – подписка о невыезде	lawsuit – судебный процесс; иск; тяжба
with substantial assets – обеспеченный, состоятельный	proven - доказанный