Английский язык для студентов юридических вузов и факультетов. Учебник

LESSON SIX

Model 13: Noun + Verb = Verb

to half-understand, to cross-examine, to double-charge Model 14: Noun + Preposition + Noun = Adverb eye-to-eye, day-to-day

8.Study the following Latin and Greek elements used for coining English legal terms. Translate the derivatives into Russian.

bigamy < Lat. bi — дву(х)... + Gr. gamos — брак, patricide < Lat. pater (patris) — отец + cide < Lat. caedes — убийство, prolicide < Lat. Proles (prolis) — отпрыск + cide, regicide < Lat. rex (regis) — царь + cide.

9.Try to guess the meaning of the following words:

bi-cameral, infanticide

10.Translate the following sentences paying attention to the forms of the

Gerund.

1.The partners in a firm of bookmakers were prosecuted on charges of bribing or attempting to bribe members of the Metropolitan Police. 2. The Actus Reus is usually a positive act, for example, taking something or hitting someone. 3. I know of his having given the evidence. 4. Stealing money or goods from a person is larceny. 5. I know of his being prosecuted for embezzlement. 6. I know of his having been convicted for burglary. 7. We were told of his having proved his innocence.

11.Ask as many questions as you can based on text A. Ask your group-mates to answer them.

TEXT 2

1.Memorize the following words and their definitions. dock — скамья подсудимых

evidence — свидетельские показания proof — доказательство

2.Read the following international words and give their Russian equivalents: relevant; presentation; to examine; reason; to instruct.

3.Analyze the morphological structure and the meanings of the following words: examination; examination-in-chief; cross-examination; re-examination;

to weaken; reasonable; otherwise; applicable; foreman; courtroom; explanation; justification; conviction; defence; defendant; juror.

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READING

4. Read the text, try to guess the meanings of the words and phrases in bold type. Get ready to retell the text.

STAGES OF TRIAL BY JURY

There are several stages of jury trial. First the defendant is brought into the dock and is charged with a crime. The charge read to the defendant is known as the indictment. The defendant pleads Guilty or Not Guilty. If he pleads Not Guilty, the jury is selected and sworn to do justice. Then the trial begins.

The prosecuting counsel opens the case by laying the facts before the jury. He also says what the relevant law is.

Witnesses on one side and then on the other are called. This is the stage known as examination-in-chief. The witnesses for each side may be crossexamined by the other. The aim of cross-examination is to weaken or destroy the earlier evidence. To repair the damage done in cross-examination, the side which called the witness may re-examine him or her. The judge presides over the process deciding whether the evidence offered by each side can be admitted or rejected.

After the presentation of evidence by both sides the lawyers make speeches in which they sum up the proof. The prosecution is the first to make the speech and the defence has the last word.

Before the jurors leave the courtroom and begin discussing the case in the jury-room, they are instructed by the judge. He reminds them of the crime the defendant was charged with. While instructing the jury the judge stresses that in order for the jury to find the defendant guilty, they must be convinced beyond a reasonable doubt, that he committed the crime as charged, otherwise they must find him not guilty. The judge also states the applicable legal norms.

After hearing the instruction, the jury retires, elects a foreman and considers its verdict. Then the jury returns to the courtroom and announces the verdict without any explanation or justification. If the jury returns a verdict of acquittal, the defendant is free to go. If the jury returns a verdict of conviction the judge must proceed to consider the sentence.

5. Fill in the following chart The stages of the trial by jury

TEXT 3

1. Memorize the following words.

delinquent — правонарушитель, преступник

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LESSON SIX

juvenile justice — ювенальная юстиция adult — совершеннолетний

waive — отказывать в судебной процедуре слушания всего дела waiver — отказ в судебной процедуре слушания всего дела

2.Read and translate the following international words: surrogate; minimum; transfer; automatic.

3.Translate the family words:

delinquency — delinquent — non-delinquent; approximate — approximately; depend — dependant; legislative — legislator; offend — offender; automatic — automatically; waive — waiver.

4. After you read the following text, be ready to present your point of view on the issue. Brainstorm the reasons for having a separate justice system for juveniles. Compare the age of responsibility in the U.S.A. and Russia.

JUVENILE JUSTICE

A juvenile is any person who is not yet an adult. In most states and the District of Columbia, individuals under 18 years of age are considered juveniles. A delinquent is a juvenile who has committed an illegal act. There is a judicial (court) system especially for juveniles. In most states and the District of Columbia, youth under the age of 18 who commit an illegal act have their cases heard in juvenile court. All states set an age limit that determines whether a person accused of a crime is a juvenile or an adult. The original idea behind juvenile court was that children in trouble with the law should be helped rather than punished. The first juvenile court was created in Cook County, Illinois in 1899. Before 1899, youth were tried in the adult criminal court system and subjected to adult penalties.

A central concept of the juvenile court is the principal of parens patriae (the state as the parent) in which the court acts as a surrogate parent in the best interest of the child. The juvenile court also uses terms and procedures that are different from adult or criminal court.

A juvenile hearing is usually a private proceeding with a judge. A trial is a public proceeding with a judge and possibly a jury. An adjudicatory hearing is like a “trial,” when the judge hears the facts of the case from the defense attorney and the prosecution. The judge decides if the juvenile is delinquent or nondelinquent. A dispositional hearing is when the judge gives a “sentence” to the youth. If a youth is found nondelinquent there is no dispositional hearing.

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READING

Usually, there are three procedures by which youth are waived or transferred to adult court:

A.The judge decides, after a hearing, that the case should be heard in criminal court: In 46 States and the District of Columbia (as of 1999) judges can, usually after a request by the prosecutor, decide to “waive” jurisdiction and transfer the juvenile to criminal court for trial in the “adult” system. Some states allow complete judicial discretion, others allow judicial waiver only for certain offenses, or in certain cases. Many states set minimum ages for such transfer. In all cases, judicial waivers must consider certain circumstances set out in the U.S. Supreme Court’s Kent decision. In 1996, approximately 10,000 cases (about 1.6%) were judicially waived into criminal court.

Thus:

• no Judicial Waiver in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Mexico, New York; no Age Specified: Alaska, Arizona, Maine, Montana, Oklahoma, South Dakota,

• Washington, West Virginia; dependant Upon Offense;

• 14 years: Alabama, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Florida, Iowa, etc.

B.For certain charges the law states that the case will automatically be heard in criminal (adult) court: In a growing number of states (28 in 1999), legislatures have “excluded” certain young offenders from juvenile court jurisdiction based on age and/or offense. Some states have simply defined the upper age of juvenile jurisdiction as 15 or 16. Other states exclude youth of a certain age who commit certain felonies from juvenile jurisdiction. The most common minimum age for automatic waiver is 16 but in some cases it is as low as age 13 as in Georgia, Illinois, Mississippi, New York, and Oklahoma (for some offenses). These statutes move these youth automatically up to the adult criminal system. In 1996, over 200,000 cases involving youth under age 19 were moved into criminal court based on these exclusions.

C.By state law the prosecuting attorney makes the decision to file certain charges in the juvenile or adult court: A third method of “waiver” exists in some states (15 as of 1999) in which the prosecutor can file certain cases in either juvenile or criminal court. Which cases are eligible for such “prosecutorial transfer” are based on the age of the youth and the crime committed.

TEXT 4

1. Read the text. Get ready to ask your fellow-students as many questions as you can based on the text.

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LESSON SIX

DEALING WITH CHILD ABUSE

AND NEGLECT CASES IN THE US

Law enforcement officers in different US states are required by statute to report suspected child abuse and neglect cases to special departments. Officers should view workers and other professionals — including social workers, physicians, nurses, educators, prosecutors, and victims assistance advocates — as partners in fighting child abuse and neglect. Law enforcement officers should also:

1)intervene in any case of alleged family violence.

2)protect the victims without regard to the relationship between the alleged offender and victim. This mandate includes the completion of a written report and the necessary action under protective order statutes.

3)investigate any conduct by act or omission that results in physical or emotional injury to the child, including homicide.

4)report abuse and neglect cases to the Department of Protective and Regulatory Services. (Mandated Statutorily)

5)enforce court orders.

Many departments have specially trained officers and units assigned to investigate and follow-up on all child abuse and neglect cases. Trained officers in this area are important because the victim’s age often affects how the investigator may proceed.

Other professionals who have important roles in child abuse and neglect cases are the social worker, the physician, the nurse, the educator, the prosecutorial staff and victim’s assistance advocates1.

Notes: 1 http://www.policecentraltraining.com/Courses/ICA/2_ 1.html

ORAL SPEECH PRACTICE

I.Mind Your Grammar When You Speak

1.Agree with the following statements.

Model 1. A: One (you, people) must read newspapers to be well informed. B: That’s right. One (you, people) can be only well informed by reading the newspapers.

Prompts: 1. One must practise very much to learn the English language. 2. One must read much to get good knowledge. 3. One must study the codes and legal doctrines to become a good lawyer. 4. One must drive carefully to avoid

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ORAL SPEECH PRACTICE

A:What’s the title of the article?

B:“Juvenile Justice”.

3.

A:Have you read this book up to the end?

B:Not yet. I’ve read only the Introductory Chapter and Chapter I.

A:How many chapters are there in the book?

B:Five.

A:Do you find the book interesting?

B:Not very.

A:Why?

B:Much of the material presented in the book is out-of-date. There are

some mistakes of fact at that.

A:I see. But if the book suffers from so many defects why continue reading it?

B:But it contains some very useful information too. I’ll read it up to the end, by all means, despite its shortcomings.

2. Make up dialogues based on the following assignments.

1. Ask your fellow-student to give you a piece of advice as to what textbook in criminal law you should use. 2. Ask your fellow student about the last scientific article (book) he/she has read. Try to get as much information as possible about the book (its title, its author, its structure and contents).

III. Polylogue

1. Read the polylogue.

At the English lesson the students analyze the articles they have read in American journals.

Teacher: Last time I asked you to choose an article dealing with some legal problem. Now we are going to listen to your reviews. Let’s get started.

Oleg: I’ve read the article “Dealing With Death” by David O. Stewart in the ABA Journal, Volume 8, November 1994. The article deals with the problem of capital punishment in the U.S.A. The author cites the points of view of other lawyers who consider the death penalty unconstitutional. At the same time, this view contrasts with the popular enthusiasm for the death penalty, which is in effect in 37 states of the U.S.A. The author also points out that capital punishment does not often result in its execution, because a lot of death row prisoners succeed in having their death sentences lifted or in having the convictions overturned on appeal.

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LESSON SIX

Nina: The article I want to dwell on is entitled “Where do we draw the line?” It appeared in the January issue of “California Lawyer” in 1995. It was written by Sarah Henry. The article raises both legal and moral problems of active euthanasia1. Some people call it mercy killing, but their opponents call it homicide. The author of the article describes a case when a physician gave an injection of a lethal dose of potassium chloride2 to a girl who was dying to stop her from suffering. The hospital reported the incident to the district attorney’s office but the DA’s3 office declined to prosecute the physician because they had no significant evidence for a criminal case.

Alla: The title of the article I’ve chosen is ‘Straight Talk’ by Talbot Sandy D’Alemberte which was published in the ABA Journal, Volume 78, August 1992. lt covers a wide range of problems of the national system of American justice. The author points out its drawbacks: overcrowded courts and prisons, racism in the U.S. justice system, the erosion of rights of persons accused or wrongfully convicted. The author also touches upon the problem of legal services for the poor. He states that current spending for legal services to the poor is 35 percent less than it was in 1981. Racism results in the fact that American judges and prosecutors are overwhelmingly white, while the defendants are likely to be Hispanic or black. The opinion of the author is that political leaders should take all these problems seriously.

Notes: 1 active euthanasia — активная эйтаназия, лишение жизни по соображениям гуманности безнадежно больных или умирающих

2 potassum chloride — хлорид калия

3 DA = District Attorney

2.Say what you have learned about the problems the students spoke of.

3.Choose articles concerning legal problems to dwell upon in class.

IV. Topics for Discussion

1. Memorize the terms.

2. Look through the text on reasons giving grounds for punishing offenders. Discuss the effectiveness of these measures: a) for adults; b) for juveniles.

PUNISHMENT

There are a number of reasons why a society punishes offenders. These include, among others, to discourage the offender from committing further crimes (individual deterrence), to assist the offender, so that he or she won’t offend again (rehabilitation), to prevent the offender from committing further crimes through imprisonment (incapacitation) and to show society’s disapproval of the crime (denunciation); to provide compensation to the victim where possible (restitution); to discourage others from committing crimes (general deterrence); to provide punishment that reflects the seriousness of the offence (retribution); to discouraging the offender from committing further crimes1.

Notes: 1 http://www.justice.govt.nz/pubs/reports/2003/publicattit udes/aims- of-sentencing.htm

3. Read the following list of acts constituting domestic violence in the USA. Does it differ from Russian understanding of domestic violence?

You are abused if the person you love: “Tracks” all your time.

Constantly accuses you of being unfaithful. Discourages your relationships with family and friends.

Prevents you from working or attending group meetings or school. Criticizes you for little things.

Angers easily when drinking alcohol or taking drugs.

Controls all the finances and forces you to account in detail for what you spend.

Humiliates you in front of others.

Destroys personal property or sentimental things.

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LESSON SIX

Hits, punches, slaps, kicks, or bites you or the children.

Uses, or threatens to use, a weapon against you.

Threatens to hurt you or the children.

Forces you to engage in sex against your will.

4.Discuss in groups of three or four some issues which are important for criminal law. Find additional information if it is necessary.

1.What makes criminal enforcement of regulatory requirements different from civil enforcement? When is criminal enforcement appropriate? 2. What is “mens rea”? Why is it a necessary ingredient of criminal enforcement in many legal systems? 3. In your opinion, should criminal liability be imposed on those who did not know they were violating the law? Should ignorance of the law be an excuse? 4. Should managers and officers of a company be personally criminally liable for the intentional violations of the law committed by those they supervise? Should it depend upon what the managers/officers knew and when they knew it? Is a principle of strict liability applied to criminal offences in Russia? 5. Should the majority of cases be decided by mediation and conferencing? 6. Should the age of criminal responsibility be raised from 10 to 12 years? 7. Should the Bill of Rights include an obligation on the state to keep the age of criminal responsibility under review?

5.Divide into two groups: proponents and opponents of considering juvenile cases in adult court. Prepare a speech including all the arguments you consider to be important. Comment on the following statements. Say whether you agree or disagree with them.

• Violent youth are treated too softly by juvenile justice systems and need to go to adult prisons.

• Many of the youth who commit the worst crimes have long records of delinquency and have not been punished.

• The juvenile justice system was never meant to deal with the kind of violent behavior that is now increasing the death rate among young people.

• The juvenile justice system was developed with an emphasis on rehabilitation and treatment, and it has failed these violent youth.

• If dangerous youth are locked up, they will not be out causing more trouble.

• Sending youth to adult court will make them less likely to commit crimes in the future.

• With the most violent kids in adult prisons, the less violent offenders are no longer exposed to them and can be treated better by the juvenile justice system.

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ORAL SPEECH PRACTICE

•Kids who are 13 or 14 don’t belong in prison.

•It is cruel punishment to send youth to adult prisons.

•Our society cannot afford to lose these youth to the harsh education they will learn in adult prisons. They need to receive treatment to become productive members of the community.

•Putting young offenders in adult prisons will make them more likely to continue committing crimes.

•Placing kids in adult prisons will breed more hostility and anger.

•Juveniles who are waived to adult court will not necessarily receive harsher sentences. They are eligible for bail, plea bargaining, and other options.

6. Discuss the following issues in groups.

When you look at the kids who land in adult court, you often find that they’ve been bouncing through the system for years, basically getting a free pass for lesser crimes until they commit a horrific act. Discuss how that cycle might be broken. Why won’t policy makers stop focusing solely on the worst one percent and channel resources to either more effectively rehabilitate or punish kids before their crimes escalate?

7. Agree or disagree with the following statements.

1)It should be parents’ responsibility to educate their children as to what is and is not acceptable behavior.

2)Parents should be aware of what kind of activities their kids are into and what type of crowd they spend time with.

3)Physical activity/recreation can be helpful in proper education of youth-

at-risk.

V.Case Study

1.Say if the following cases are juvenile or adult.

1)Carmen is picked up by the police for vandalism. At her first hearing, the judge decides to let her go home until the adjudicatory hearing.

2)Ray has been convicted of murder and is sentenced to life in prison.

3)Susan is picked up for not attending school.

4)Murray has no criminal record, even though he was in court and admitted to shoplifting charges five years ago. He has not been arrested since then.

5)Chantal’s lawyer asked the jury to find her “not guilty.”

6)The social worker told the judge that Mabel obeys her parents and her curfew and attends school regularly.

7)Boris was arrested and charged with robbery. He later had a trial.

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LESSON SIX

8)Billy was picked up by the police as a runaway.

9)Pedro will always have a criminal record, even though he has only been convicted of a crime once.

10)Phyllis looked around the courtroom and saw a lot of people watching

her trial.

2. Solve the following problem.

Task 1. Read the definition of “false pretences” in the English Law.

“When a person 1. by any false pretence, 2. with intent to defraud, 3. obtains from any other person any chattel, money or valuable security.

1. The Pretence and its Falsity

(1)Must be wholly or in part of an existing fact.

(a)Must relate to the past or the present, not to the future. R. v. Lee.

(b)But a promise to do a thing coupled with a false representation that the promisor has the power to do it will be sufficient.

R. v. Jennison. R. v. Dent.

(c)A mere expression of opinion, however exaggerated, is not a false pretence, e.g., a tradesman puffing his wares.

R. v. Bryan.

(2) Must not be expressed in words, but may be inferred from acts or con-

duct.

R. v. Barnard.

Ordering a meal at a restaurant without the means to pay is not a false pretence within the Larceny Act, 1916 (h)

R. v. Jones.

(3) Must be made with knowledge or recklessness of its falsity.

(4) Must be made to the person from whom the property was obtained (or sought to be obtained) or his agent.

R. v. Ball.”1

Notes: 1 M. Garcia. Criminal Law and Procedure in a Nutshell. L, 1957

Task 2. Read the description of the precedent.

R. v. Lee. (1863) 1L.&C. 309

The prisoner obtained money from A by pretending “that he was going to pay his rent on the [following] Monday”. Held, that he could, not be convicted of obtaining money by false pretences.

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WRITING

This case was considered by Cockbum, C.J., Pollock, С.В., Williams, J., Crompton, J., and Bramwell, B.

Cockbum, C.J. — We are all agreed that the case proved against the prisoner will not warrant the conviction. There is no false pretence of an existing fact1.

Notes: 1 A Selection of Leading Cases Illustrating the Criminal Law. 4th ed., L, 1942-45

Task 3. Explain the decision the judges arrived at.

WRITING

Understanding parts of a Book

To locate information quickly study the title page, copyright page and the table of contents.

1.The title page of a book names the title, author and publisher. E.g.: Success in Law — the title

Third Edition — the edition Richard H. Bruce, L.L.B., A.C.I. Arb. of Gray’s Inn,

Barrister-at-law — the name and degree of the author JOHN MURRAY — the publisher

2.The copyright page contains the year of the publication, the years of the publication of the previous editions. E.g.:

(C)Richard H.Bruce 1991

Reprinted (with revisions) 1980, 1983, 1986 Second edition 1988

Third edition 1991 Reprinted 1992

The table of contents is usually in the front of the book and lists the page number for each chapter (unit, section, subunit, subsection, etc.). E.g.:

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LESSON SIX

Writing a Summary

1. Choose a book on law. Write a summary using the following scheme.

I. In the introduction mention the name of the author,

the year of the publication,

additional information (the editor, the edition), the number of the chapters.

II. The body of the summary.

While writing this part of the summary keep to the following plan:

a)the problems the book deals with (skim through the table of contents);

b)some particular problems that could interest the reader most of all (scan through some pages of the book using the information in the table of contents);

say what purpose the author had in writing this book.

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LESSON SEVEN

GRAMMAR: The Functions of the Verbs to be, to have (Revision). WORD-BUILDING: Noun-forming Suffixes Denoting State and Quality (Revi-

sion).

READING AND ORAL SPEECH PRACTICE: Civil Law and its Interconnection with the Criminal Law.

CONVERSATIONAL FORMULAS: Giving a Series of Reasons.

WRITING: Writing an Essay.

GRAMMAR

The Functions of the Verbs to be, to have

Exercises

1. Translate the following sentences paying attention to the functions of the verbs to be, to have.

1. There is a cardinal distinction between judiciary and statute law in the way it is interpreted. 2. The House of Lords is considered the upper house of the British parliament, but its political powers are much more limited than those of the lower house, the House of Commons. 3. He was sentenced to six months’ imprisonment. 4. Suicide is the intentional taking of one’s own life. 5. Assaults may also be a crime. 6. The sentence is final and not subject to appeal. 7. She is looking for the latest issue of the New Law Journal. 8. The trial is to begin at 11 a.m. 9. In some countries in order to practise as a lawyer it is not necessary to have a degree, although most people entering the profession do. 10. He had to choose between two conflicting decisions. 11.I have been studying law for two

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LESSON SEVEN

years. 12. The merger of barristers and solicitors into one single body of lawyers has long been the subject of debate both within and outside the legal profession. 13. The relationship between solicitors and barristers was often said to have been analogous to the general practitioner family doctor and the hospital consultant who gives a more specialized treatment to patients. 14. Since 1984 solicitors in Great Britain have been allowed to advertise their services in the press or on radio. 15. What has to be done during the arrest is to make it clear to the suspect that he is being arrested and the reason for his arrest. 16. The suspect had two previous convictions. 17. The detective told the local police what had happened and asked them to keep an eye on the man.

2. Choose the correct form of the auxiliary in brackets.

1. Historically there (is, was, were) the right to challenge seven jurors. 2. The prosecution in Great Britain (have, has, was, were) always had a right to remove potential jurors. 3. In many legal systems of the world it (was, are, is, am) an important principle that a person cannot be considered guilty of a crime until the fact of committing the crime is proved. 4. The law (had, has, have, are) to regulate relations between people. 5. In Britain most court cases (is, are, have) open to the public. 6. The court held that the defender (has, had) been negligent.

READING

TEXT 1

1. Read and translate the text paying special attention to the words and wordcombinations in bold type. Explain your choice.

TORTS AND CONTRACTS

“When we think of modern civil litigation, we usually think of contract or of tort — disputes growing out of trade, or the relationships between employer and employee, or the agreements under which corporations and partnerships are organized and do business with each other and with the public; or actions to compensate for damage negligently done to a person or to goods (mostly on the highway or, lately, in the hospital), or intentionally, for fraud, libel, invasion of privacy, infringement of patent or copyright, occasionally assault, and (again lately) deprivation of civil rights.”1

The word “tort” is derived from the French language meaning “wrong.” In legal terminology the word means any civil wrong other than breach of contract or breach of trust.

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READING

“Lawyers group under this general heading of Tort all acts of any person or organization which by law gives to any other person or organization the right to claim damages or other legal remedies against the “actor” (as lawyers call the person doing an act), other than acts which give a right to claim damages for breach of contract, contract being ... an obligation voluntarily undertaken by one person to another”2. Contract law “enforces duties set out in parties’ agreements... Tort law requires no express agreement between the parties for a duty to arise, but instead simply assumes that all members of society have a common, unspoken duty to refrain from behavior that will cause harm to other people”3.

“When a tort is committed, the same act is often also a crime. But the essential difference between torts and crimes is that the former are the subject of civil law disputes between private individuals, and the latter are prosecuted by the state... Sometimes an individual takes an action in the law of tort because he has been the victim of the crime but has gained no benefit from the criminal prosecution. Sometimes there is no criminal prosecution because the police do not feel they have enough evidence or they feel that the matter is more of a private dispute than one involving public law and order. And sometimes it is difficult to find a criminal law which covers a tortious act. For example, simply entering land without the owner’s permission is not a crime in English law. It is, however, the tort of trespass”4. The trespasser may be asked to leave and, if he does not, he may be forced to do so.

Some torts are rather specific, e.g. trespass or false imprisonment. The latter occurs when someone is detained against his or her will even for a short period of time, when neither force nor threat are used and the person detained was not forced or inconvenienced. Other torts are used in many different situations, e.g. the tort of negligence. This includes reckless motorists, doctors who diagnose wrongly or give the wrong treatment to patients, etc.

“To win an action in negligence, a plaintiff must show that a duty of care existed between himself and the defendant at the time of the tort; that this duty of care has been breached; and that damage or injury has been suffered because of this”5.

The next tort to consider is nuisance. There are nuisances of two types: public and private. Public nuisances involve cases where the public as a whole suffer more than an individual. That is why public nuisances are not torts but crimes. A private nuisance is more limited. The occupier of an apartment, for example, may sue in the tort of nuisance if he is disturbed by the noise made by his or her neighbour. Most common forms of nuisance are noise, smells, falling objects, etc.

The tort of defamation “is concerned with injury to the reputation of another person. The elements are (1) the defendant made a defamatory statement

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LESSON SEVEN

concerning the plaintiff; (2) the statement was “published”; and (3) the statement damaged the plaintiffs reputation”6.

One of the newest torts in the U.S.A. is infliction of emotional distress. “This involves intentional conduct that is so reckless and outrageous that it causes severe mental distress to a person of ordinary sensibilities. Recently a U.S. district court held that passengers on a jetliner that had plummeted toward the ocean during a flight, causing the passengers to believe for a period of time that they were going to die, could sue for emotional distress”7. These are only the examples of torts. In fact torts are numerous and various.

“It often happens that a person who suffers a wrong finds that he has the choice in the law of contract to sue either in the law of contract or in tort. For example, if I am injured in a taxi because of the driver’s careless driving, I could sue the driver for breach of an unwritten contract to take me to the airport, or I could sue him for the tort of negligence. The choice may depend upon which case is easier to prove and whether I am likely to get larger damages under the law of contract or the law of tort.”8

There are several classifications of contracts: “they are classified according to how they are created (expressed/implied), to their stage of performance (executory/executed), and whether the agreement involves making a promise for a promise or a promise for an act (bilateral/unilateral)... Contracts may be categorized according to enforcement. If a contract is fully enforceable by both parties to the agreement, the contract is a valid one. Most contracts probably fall into this class. If, however, a contract is enforceable by only one of the parties, it is voidable... If a contract in some manner violates public policy, then it is void and the contract is treated as though the parties had never entered into it.”9 There are also other classifications of contracts.

Notes: 1 Rembar Ch. The Law of the Land: The Evolution of Our Legal System. N.Y., 1980, p. 188.

2 Pritt D.N. Law and Class Society. Book 4: The Substance of the Law. L, 1972, p. 9.

3 Burnham W. Introduction to the Law and Legal System of the United States. St. Paul, Minn., 1995, p. 401.

4 Powell R. Law Today. Longman, 1993, p. 51.

5 Ibid., p. 55.

6 Burnham W. Op.cit., p. 419.

7 Commaker A. Legal Environment of Business. The Pennsylvania State Univ., 1993, p. 19.

8 Powell R. Op. cit., p. 52-54.

9 Commaker A. Op. cit, p. 45-46.

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READING

2. Give the Russian for:

civil litigation; trade; employer; employee; fraud; libel; invasion of privacy; assault; to claim damages; evidence; private dispute; tortious act; entering land; trespass; harm; to detain; reckless motorist; plaintiff; defendant; injury; to sue; defamation; infliction of emotional distress; intentional conduct; careless driving; expressed contract; implied contract; bilateral contract; unilateral contract.

3. Give the English for:

товарищество; небрежность; нарушение авторского права; лишение гражданских прав; гражданское правонарушение (деликт); нарушение контракта; добровольно; гражданское право; спор; жертва преступления; уголовное преследование; уголовное право; нарушитель владения; неправомерное лишение свободы; угроза; обязанность соблюдать осторожность; источник опасности для какого-нибудь лица или группы лиц; договор с исполнением в момент заключения; договор с исполнением в будущем; подразумеваемый договор; ничтожный договор; оспоримый договор; договор; имеющий юридическую силу.

4. Complete the following sentences using the words given below each sentence (a, b, or c).

1)... is an unjustifiable interference with possession,

a)defamation, b) trespass, c) careless driving

2)... is an attack against someone’s reputation through written or spoken

word.

a)nuisance, b) defamation, c) negligence

3)Entering land without the owner’s permission is...

a)trespass, b) infliction of emotional distress, c) careless driving

4)... is the omission to do something which a reasonable man would not do.

a)negligence, b) trespass, c) false imprisonment

5)... is the unlawful confinement of a person against his or her will.

a)infliction of emotional distress, b) false imprisonment, c) negligence

6)A ... contract is one that has no legal effect,

a)void, b) voidable, c) valid

5. Make up wordcombinations.

139