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Файл:Reading Comprehension in Law. Учебник для СПО
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settlement amount is determined by the plaintiff and their attorney in order to insure the
amount is sufficient to cover the costs, fees and other money which has been lost from
the action. If a settlement can not be reached, the case may go to trial.
Basic steps of a civil trial
There are nine basic steps of a civil trial:
1. Opening statements — When both attorneys present their argument for the case.
2. Direct exam by Plaintiff — The plaintiff's attorney calls any witnesses to
testify.
3. Cross exam — The defendant's attorney is allowed to question the witnesses
called by the plaintiff's attorney.
4. Motions — Either attorney may move for certain motions to be made and the
judge will then either grant or deny the motion. A common motion made at this point in
the trial is a motion for summary judgment. It is basically asking the judge to make a
decision based on the information submitted to this point in the trial.
5. Direct exam by Defendant — The defendant's attorney calls any witnesses to
testify.
6. Cross exam — The plaintiff's attorney is allowed to question the witnesses
called by the defendant's attorney.
7. Closing statements — The attorneys give their summary of the information
heard during the trial.
8. Jury instruction and deliberation — The judge instructs the jury (if applicable)
on their rights and they stay in a private conference room to discuss the case and make a
decision.
9. Verdict and sentencing — The judge or jury foreman will read the verdict and
the judge may then pass the judgment.
Give a summary of the text.
Text 3. Deposition and interrogatories
Read the text and explain the difference between deposition and
interrogatories.
There are multiple phases of a civil lawsuit, beginning with the filing of
complaints by a plaintiff and possible filings of counter-suits by the defendant, and
progressing through the pre-trial procedures, pleadings, motions, and so on. The
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discovery phase of a trial, whether civil or criminal, is the phase during which each party
to the case presents information to the other that provides the basis for each side’s
position. Information exchanged during discovery includes evidence and the list of
witnesses that each side intends to have testify on his or her behalf.
One of the most important elements of a civil suit involves the taking of
depositions from all parties involved regarding their observations, experiences or
involvement in the matter that provides the basis for the suit. Parties to a suit will
frequently “depose” each other as a way of forcing legally-enforced histories to be
available prior to the initiation of the trial. As depositions are legally-binding
documents — in other words, those being deposed are sworn under oath to testify
truthfully in advance of the formal trial — they provide among the most important
elements of a civil or criminal case and allow lawyers for each side to enter trial with
sworn statements against which witnesses or parties to the suit can be questioned.
Another element of the discovery phase of a civil suit is what is known as
“interrogatories”, which are written questions each side submits to the other that require
written, truthful answers. Subpoenas are almost always issued in civil suits requiring
individuals to appear at trial and be prepared to testify under oath as to his or her
knowledge of matters relating to the suit. Subpoenas not only compel individuals to
appear in court, they also provide a sense of moral protection to many witnesses who
would rather be legally compelled to testify in a trial than do so voluntarily if their
testimony is likely to prove injurious to a party to the case in a way that could adversely
affect future relations (“I didn’t want to testify; they made me. They served me with a
subpoena!”).
Litigation Vocabulary:
Descriptive law — описательный закон.
Prescriptive laws — предписывающие законы.
Suffer penalty — понести наказание.
Break the law — нарушать закон.
Make a law — создавать закон.
To enforce laws — обеспечивать соблюдение законов.
To commit a crime — совершить преступление.
To escape justice — избежать правосудия.
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Implementation of justice — отправление правосудия.
Public laws — общественные права.
Private laws — частные права.
Within ones power — в чьей-то компетенции.
To establish authority — устанавливать авторитет.
To be defined by law — быть определенным по закону.
To use influence — использовать влияние.
To punish people — наказывать людей.
Exercise 31
Translate the following words into Russian: Justice, lawyers, litigation,
appointive system, federal courts, advice, client-directed practice, substantive rules, to
reason deductively, apply the law, specific case, legal profession, judge, advocate,
decide a case, try a case, judiciary, private legal practice, chief executive, barrister,
courtroom lawyer, solicitor, legal activity, labor law, fixation, paralegals, legality,
transaction, issue, to serve clients, administration of justice, behavior, experience,
distinguish, amateur, confronts the interests, elect by the population, legal system, to
analyze factual situations, litigation, legal education, to apply the law, advocates and
judges, appointive system, client-directed practice, paralegal, elected, training,
judiciary.
Exercise 32
Read the sentences and decide what word is missing:
1. Besides … lawyer perform different duties.
2. That is why the general objective of ... is to prepare the students of law to
function as competent lawyers.
3. The main function of legal profession and legal practice is .... Most vividly this
function is manifested in the work carried out by ... in the process of trying and deciding
cases.
4. In the USA, the ... is used in federal courts.
5. There are also many lawyers in private ...
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6. A ... is a nor-lawyer who performs legal tasks that were once done by lawyer.
7. Judges are either appointed or ....
8. Any law school must provide broad ....
9. The most prestigious branch of the legal profession in CB and the countries
influenced by its system is the ....
10. The work carried out by ... is diverse.
11. In England ... are more commonly appointed.
12. Under adversary ..., lawyers are advocates representing their clients.
13. Many specialist in law ....
14. … in the USA is carried out not only by lawyers but also by paralegals.
15. Great governmental departments need their own legal sub-branch to have
skilled.
Exercise 33
Read the sentences and say whether they are true or false:
1. Under adversary systems of justice, lawyers are advocates representing their
clients.
2. In England judges are more commonly appointed.
3. Appointments of judges are made by the Queen.
4. The main function of legal profession and legal practice is to apply the law in
specific cases.
5. To become a judge in GB, one has to spend 30 in private legal practice or in
teaching law or government legal service.
6. Few specialists in law advocate.
7. Legal practice in the U.S.A is carried only by lawyers.
8. A lawyer always confronts the interests of professionalism and his own
financial interests.
9. Lawyers could be loyal to their clients.
10. Any lawyer is free to engage in any sort of legal activity.
Exercise 34
Match the translation of the sentences:
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1. Burglar broke into the bank and threatened at
gunpoint kidnapped a large sum of money
a) Преступники скрылись от полиции надев
фальшивые усы и другую одежду
2. Police arranged a hunt for criminals who stole car
b) Участились случаи шантажа людей по
почте
3. Cases of blackmail of people by mail have
become more frequent
c) Обвиняемый доказывал свою
невиновность в судебном порядке
4. The accused has to prove his innocence in court
d) В городе стали совершаться жестокие
убийства людей которые были вне закона
5. Criminals escaped from police wearing fake
mustaches and other clothing
e) Полиция устроила погоню за
преступниками похитивший автомобиль
6. the brutal killings of people who were outside the
law began to occur in the town
f) Грабитель ворвался в банк и похитил
крупную сумму денег
Supplementary texts for Units 1–2
Unit 2. Civil litigation lawyer
Text 1. Are You a Legal Professional?
Read the text and explain why it is necessary to enlist a knowledgeable and
experienced litigation attorney who has ample experience with your legal issues.
For a non-lawyer (and even for some lawyers), a courtroom can be a strange and
scary place. Court proceedings are arcane and can be intimidating. This is why it is
always far better to try to settle or mediate your dispute outside of court. However,
sometimes it is impossible to even talk with the other side, let along negotiate some kind
of agreement that would make stepping inside a courtroom unnecessary. If you have
fallen into this situation, you will probably either need to hire an attorney or learn how
best to represent yourself in court (called pro se representation).
Finding and Hiring an Attorney
If you have concluded that your case is worth enough to justify you hiring an
attorney, the first step is finding an attorney to represent you.
After this, you should talk with your attorney about what you should expect
during the course of your case. If your attorney thinks that your case has a good chance
of settling, you will want to make sure that you attend all proceedings where settlement
negotiation occurs. In addition, make sure to tell your attorney that you want to stay
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informed about all the developments in your case. Your attorney will be able to tell you
exactly what is going on at any given time, explain how various court proceedings work,
and will probably also be able to tell you about what he thinks may happen next.
Remember, you hire your attorney to be your legal expert.
What many people do not know is that a large majority of all civil cases settle
well before they enter a courtroom. If you have the opportunity to settle your case before
you have to go to court, you should take the time to seriously consider this option.
Remember that if you settle a case, you have a guaranteed result, whereas if you go to
court, you are at the mercy of the court proceedings.
Pro Se Representation
Often times representing yourself during courtroom proceedings makes more
sense that hiring a legal professional to do the work for you. Some types of cases are
simple enough that you will not need extensive legal knowledge or experience in order
to get through your case. As an example, oftentimes divorces where both parties are
happy to talk and work with each other can be brought to court without attorneys on
either side. To help you out, here is a brief guide of some of the things that you may
need to know in order to represent yourself in court.
To start a case, you will often need to file a civil complaint. You can find many
blank complaint forms online from various websites and other sources. After filing out
the form, you will need to file it with the court, as well as serve the civil complaint to the
defendant in your case. In order to serve the civil complaint, you will need to follow the
service rules for your state, but it is often acceptable to have someone over the age of
18 personally deliver the complaint to the defendant.
Now your case has officially started and you are in the "discovery" phase, where
you get to find out information from the other side. This can be done by sending a form
to the other side that asks questions that must be answered truthfully. This is called an
"interrogatory". You can also ask the other side show up to answer questions in person,
which is called a "deposition".
When the day of your trial shows up, you will need to show up to court in
professional attire and proceed with the trial. This will involve calling and questioning
witnesses, as well as asking questions of any witnesses that the other side calls, which is
called "cross-examining".
One option that many pro se plaintiffs and defendants choose is to hire an attorney,
not to represent them in court, but rather to be a coach and adviser of sorts (to explain the
different court proceedings and terminology, for instance). This option has become more
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and more popular recently with the number of freshly minted attorneys coming out of law
school each year. As little as 20 years ago, hiring a 'law coach' would have cost almost as
much as hiring an attorney to represent you, but there are many attorneys now that are
more flexible in regards to their billing rate. The attorney that you hire as your coach
should be able to help you with legal research, drafting documents, helping you with
deadlines and information you about any peculiarities of your local court proceedings.
Text 2. Advocacy
Advocacy is often described as ‘the art of persuasion in court’. The key to
advocacy is to use communication to bring about a willing shift in the attitudes or beliefs
of others.
As a lawyer, advocacy is the most public task you’ll undertake. Your competence
is on display to your client, the judge, your peers and members of the public. As such,
your capacity to succeed depends on how effective you are in preparing, and in the
techniques of persuasive communication.
Addressing the court
Advocacy in court is not simply a matter of preparing and delivering a strong
case. And it differs from other forms of presentation. For instance, in a courtroom your
ability to move around, to make use of space and to engage the audience in activity is
restricted.
Make eye contact with the judge/jury/tribunal panel. By speaking without a script,
you are demonstrating your commitment to your case and by extension, supporting its
credibility. This increases your chances of convincing your audience of the authority of
your argument.
Courtroom advocacy also differs from other oral presentations because, depending
on the level of the court, the act of persuasion begins before the courtroom address in the
form of written submissions to the judge or tribunal. The great reliance placed by courts
on written submissions (such as appeal documents and affidavits) means that advocates
need to be as effective at written communication as oral.
Reading directly from a script is considered inappropriate in a court. However,
good notes are essential to help guide examination and cross examination and for
submitting points of law. Notes should be sufficiently comprehensive to be useful, but
not so dense that they make it hard for you to move around them in response to
questions or direction from a judge.
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It can be useful to have headings, and multi-level numbered paragraphs in your
notes to provide helpful signposts and priority. There should be lots of white space on
the page to help you move right to the point quickly. Very wide margins can allow space
for additional notes and comments throughout the case, where you might wish to
respond to a point that opposing counsel has made, or something a judge has raised.
Your notes should also correspond with the materials that the bench has, and help
you direct the court to the relevant part of the relevant page of the relevant authorities.
Principles of effective advocacy
The skills and attributes of a successful advocate are gained through preparation
and practice. In a trial or tribunal hearing, for example:
Be brief and clear. A good advocate gets directly to the point and avoids legal
jargon wherever possible.
Capture the attention of the judge, jury or panel with a powerful opening
statement.
Lead with your strongest argument, and introduce significant matters of evidence
carefully and deliberately.
Present your facts in a logical order, eg. Chronological or thematic. Use
summaries and transitions to structure your presentation.
Be selective in your inclusion of facts. Identify and use those that make the
strongest points for your case.
Draw attention to important points and give your audience time to digest them by
pausing for a couple of seconds after you have made them.
Modulate your tone of voice for interest and emphasis.
Close on a strong point, because we remember best what we hear last.
As an advocate, your countenance (how you appear and sound) is very important.
Establish a favourable impression by being: Be prepared.
Know your audience and adapt to their needs and concerns.
Be flexible in your argument. For example, if a judge wants to follow a particular
line of enquiry, it’s usually best to follow his or her cue.
Know the facts of the case and have a clear idea of the submissions you will
make.
Practise beforehand, including tone of voice, emphasis and pauses.
Be convincing and credible.
Make eye contact.
Portray confidence, even if you feel nervous.
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Convey a sense of belief in what you are saying by choosing direct language,
speaking in a clear voice and supporting it with confident body language.
Be well-presented in your clothing and grooming.
Err on the side of conservatism in your presentation.
Dress with an appropriate degree of formality.
Judges, juries, magistrates and tribunal members will also respond favourably if
you.
Use facts to build your case.
Apply skills of reasoning and analysis.
Observe the rules of evidence and court procedure.
Are courteous to the bench. If the bench asks a question, it should be immediately
dealt with even if it comes up at an inconvenient time in your submission.
Know when to argue a point and when to concede.
Becoming an advocate
After admission to legal practice, you will need to complete a traineeship or
practical legal training. You will then undertake a nine-month ‘reading’ period under the
mentorship of an experienced barrister during which you will receive practical
instruction and sign the Bar Roll. Once the Bar Roll has been signed, you are able to
accept briefs and present cases on behalf of clients.
As a practicing lawyer you can also represent clients in the lower courts without
admission to the Bar. This can be a particularly rewarding way of expanding your skills
and experience base as a lawyer.
Personal injury law
Text 1. Frequently Asked Questions about Personal Injury Law
Study the information on personal injury law.
Q: How do I know if I have a personal injury case?
A: First, you must have suffered an injury to your person or property. Second, you
should consider whether your injury was someone else’s fault. It is not always necessary
to have a physical injury to bring a personal injury lawsuit. Some personal injury claims
could be based on a variety of nonphysical losses and harms. In the case of an assault,
for example, you do not need to show that a person’s action caused you actual physical
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harm, but only that you expected some harm to come to you. You also may have a case
if someone has attacked your reputation, invaded your privacy, or inflicted emotional
distress upon you.
Q: How soon after I am injured do I have to file a lawsuit?
A: Every state has certain time limits, called “statutes of limitations”, which
govern the amount of time you have to file a personal injury lawsuit. In some states, you
may have as little as one year to file a lawsuit arising out of an automobile accident. If
you miss the deadline for filing your case, you may lose your legal right to damages for
your injury. Consequently, it is important to talk with a lawyer as soon as you suffer or
discover an injury.
Q: What should I bring with me for my meeting with a lawyer?
A: You should provide a lawyer with any documents that might be relevant to
your case. Police reports, for example, contain eyewitness information and details about
the conditions surrounding auto accidents, fires, and assaults. Copies of medical reports
and bills from doctors and hospitals will help demonstrate the extent and nature of your
injuries. Information about the insurer of the person who caused your injury is extremely
helpful, as are any photographs you have of the accident scene, your property damage,
and your injury. The more information you are able to give your lawyer, the easier it will
be for him or her to determine if your claim will be successful. If you haven’t collected
any documents at the time of your first meeting, however, don’t worry; your lawyer will
be able to obtain them in his investigation of your claim.
Q: What if a person dies before bringing a personal injury lawsuit?
A: It depends on whether the person died as a result of injuries from the accident
or from unrelated causes. If a person injured in an accident subsequently dies because of
those injuries, that person’s heirs may recover money through a lawsuit known as a
wrongful death action. Also, even if a person with a personal injury claim dies from
unrelated causes, the personal injury claim survives in most cases and may be brought
by the executor or personal representative of the deceased person’s estate.
Q: What is “negligence”?
A: The critical issue in many personal injury cases is just how a “reasonable
person” was expected to act in the particular situation that caused the injury. A person is
negligent when he or she fails to act like an “ordinary reasonable person” would have
acted. The determination of whether a given person has met the “ordinary reasonable
person” standard is often a matter that is resolved by a jury after presentation of
evidence and argument at trial.
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