- •Forensics and forensics
- •I. Discuss the following questions:
- •II. Match the terms and their definitions :
- •III. Useful phrases
- •VI. Case study: Read the story Millionare Trio Escape Jail.
- •Forensic linguistics
- •Visit the site of International Association of Forensic Linguists http://www.Iafl.Org/ What are research areas of Forensic Linguistics?
- •Bnp 'arsonist' in court
- •Talking like a lawyer
- •Impersonal Constructions
- •I. Explain the meaning of the italicized words.
- •II. Discuss the following questions:
- •III. Match the legal terms and their definitions:
- •IvProvide facts from the text which support the following statements:
- •The legal lexicon
- •I. Explain the meaning of the italicized words.
- •II. Discuss the following questions:
- •III. Match the legal terms and their definitions:
- •IV. Find definitions of the following linguistic terms in the linguistic dictionary:
- •V. Read 2 extracts from the legal documents (Employment Agreement and Joint Venture Agreement) and find out which italicized words/phrases are archaic and which ones are technical terms?
- •Employment Agreement
- •1.Agreement to employ and be employed
- •2. Descriptions of employee’s duties
- •3. Manner of performance of employee’s duties
- •Joint Venture Agreement
- •VI. Case study: Read the following text and discuss different types of legal writings. What skills are required for lawyers to make legal writing effective? Legal Writing: an overview
- •The creation, structure, and interpretation of the legal text
- •I. Explain the meaning of the italicized words.
- •II. Discuss the following questions:
- •IV. Provide facts from the text which support the following statements:
- •Vocabulary
I. Explain the meaning of the italicized words.
II. Discuss the following questions:
What are the main functions of legal texts?
What may legal texts be referred to (by linguists and by lawyers)?
What are the main genres of legal texts?
What was the early function of literacy?
What is characteristic of legal transactions in the Anglo-Saxon period?
When did written records of legal transactions appear?
What was the role of clergyman in developing legal texts?
Why were written records of transactions made?
How had the importance of written texts been changing over time?
Do all private legal transactions require authoritative written texts?
Match the legal terms and their definitions:
|
1. common law 2. Constitution 3. code 3. decree 5. deed |
a. an official decision or order made by a leader or government; a judgment made by a court of law; b. body of law developed in England, that is based on custom and general principles and embodied in case law and that serves as precedent or is applied to situations not covered by statutes; c. an official document that gives details of a legal agreement, especially about who owns a building or piece of land; d. a set of basic laws or principles for a country that describe the rights and duties of its citizens and the way in which it is governed; e. a set of rules, laws; a systematic compilation of law or legal principles that is arranged by subject; |
IV. Provide facts from the text which support the following statements:
1. Early English legal texts were evidentiary.
2. Not all private legal transactions require authoritative written texts.
V. Work in pairs. Give your arguments for and against making contracts by writing (consider different situations).
VI. Visit the site http://law.suite101.com/article.cfm/legal_writing_basics read the article Legal Writing Basics for Law Students.
What is the purpose of a Legal Office Memorandum? What is the format of a legal Office Memorandum?
VII. CASE STUDY:
Read the sample Memorandum of Law. What information is provided in the Memorandum? Comment on the format of the Memorandum of Law. What is the interpretation of the term “communication” by the Virginia Supreme Court? What is the structure of the memorandum and how is argumentation built into this structure?
MEMORANDUM OF LAW
Question Presented
What is the law in Virginia regarding the marital communications privilege, when the marital partners are legally separated and the communication is of a non-spoken type?
Factual background
Our client is charged with the robbery of the proprietor of a local 7-Eleven store. Two hours after the alleged incident, he arrived at the home of his estranged wife. He displayed $150.00 in small bills and coins in a 7-Eleven moneybag. The parties are now divorced and the prosecution intends to introduce her testimony as to the money and the moneybag.
Discussion of the issues
The Virginia Code restates the common law rule which prohibits a spouse from testifying against his or her spouse (without consent) as to any confidential communications made during a valid marriage (19.2-271.2).
A legal separation does not terminate marital rights and privileges and the subsequent termination of the marriage does not destroy the privilege. Menefee v. Commonwealth, 189 Va. 900, 55 S.E. 2d 9 (1949).
In Menefee, supra, the Virginia Supreme Court interpreted the term communication to include all information or knowledge privately imparted and made known by one spouse to the other by virtue of and in consequence of the marital relation through conduct, acts, signs and spoken or written words.
Our client’s display of the money and moneybag to his wife would therefore be a communication and would be considered privileged in that his legal separation would not affect the marital communication privilege.
Conclusion
Virginia law would prohibit our client’s wife from testifying about the money and moneybag as a violation of the marital communications privilege.
(Retrieved from http://www.nvcc.edu/home/wshannon/Legal%20Writing/8SMPLMEM.htm