1.Accused 2. Acquit 3. Civil suits 4. Counsel
5.court 6. cross-examinations 7. fault 8. guilty
9.judge 10. jurors 11. jury 12. legal disputes
13.legislature 14. list 15. money 16. officer
17.panel 18.sentence 19. swear 20. testimony
21.trial 22. witness
Trial by Jury
A jury is a selected group of laymen that hears the _________ in _________ and decides the facts. A courtroom trial in which a ________ decides the facts is called a _________ by jury.
Before each _________ term, a jury commissioner or another public _________ prepares a panel, or large initial _________ of qualified jurors. For each trial, __________ are selected by lot from this ___________.
Before the trial begins, the jurors __________ to decide the facts fairly. They hear the _________ given by witnesses for both sides, including __________. Then __________ for each side sum up, or summarize the case, and the ___________ explains the applicable law in his instructions to the jury.
In ________ for financial damages, the jury must decide who is at ___________ and must determine the amount of ___________ to be paid. In criminal cases, the jury must decide whether or not the ____________ is guilty “beyond a reasonable doubt”, and then either return a verdict of guilty, or ____________ the defendant by a verdict of not guilty. If the verdict is __________ the judge imposes the ___________, or punishment, within limits that have been fixed by the __________.
Activity 19. Match punishment with its description.
capital punishment a. a period of time in jail
corporal punishment b. being made to do specially hard work while in prison
eviction c. death
a heavy fine d. a punishment imposed only if you commit a further crime
internment e. a large sum of money to pay
penal servitude f. whipping or beating
a prison sentence g. regular meetings with a social worker
probation h. removing from a house or land by law
solitary confinement i. limiting the freedom of movement
a suspended sentence j. being imprisoned completely alone
Activity 20. Which crimes deserve which punishment? Read the articles and discuss whether or not the death sentence is the right punishment for murderers, rapists and car thieves. Then look at the list of crimes and fill in the table with the minimum and maximum punishments that you think should be given to people found guilty of them. Discuss it with the rest of the class.
Thousands cheer death sentence
Peking (AP) – Thirty criminals were sentenced to death at a mass rally attended by thousands of cheering spectators yesterday and later executed.
The executions were part of a law-and-order campaign launched about 10 days ago. It was the largest group to be executed in Peking for several years.
A notice posted at the Peking intermediate court, which imposed the death sentences, said that the 30 executed criminals included 19 accused of murder, 10 rapists and one car thief. One woman was among those executed. None was older 35.
Man cleared after 9 years gets $65,000
A man who served nine years of a life sentence for murdering a child before being cleared by the Court of Appeal last year has received $65,000 as interim compensation from the Home Office.
Mark Cleary, of Clifton, Nottingham, now 29, is expected to receive further cash taking the total to more than $100,000.
A jury found him and Philip Atherton guilty of murdering 10-year-old Wayene Keeton, whose battered body was found near a stream in Bestwood, Nottingham.
The Appeal Court ruled that his conviction was unsafe and unsatisfactory.
MR. Cleary said: “How can they ever replace what I’ve lost? Those were the years when I could well have married and begun raising a family. I can never have them back.”
He has already used the money to buy a motorcycle and plans to pay off his parents’ mortgage in gratitude for their loyalty.
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Minimum |
Maximum |
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Accepting bribes |
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Armed robbery |
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Arson |
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Assault |
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Bigamy |
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Burglary |
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Counterfeiting bank notes |
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Driving without a license |
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Drunken driving |
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Espionage |
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Fraud |
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Helping criminal escape |
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Hijacking an airplane |
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Kidnapping |
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Manslaughter |
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Murder |
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Offering bribes |
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Parking in the wrong place |
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Receiving stolen property |
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Shoplifting |
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Smuggling |
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Tax evasion |
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Treason |
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Trespass |
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Attempted murder |
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Joyriding |
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Blackmail |
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Rape |
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Forgery |
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Possessing a gun unlawfully |
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Libel |
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Useful-to-know activity. Study properly word-combinations and compose sentences of your own.
Criminal
* lunatic – невменяемый преступник;
* motive – преступный мотив;
* participation – соучастие в преступлении;
* prosecution – уголовное преследование;
* propensities – преступные наклонности;
Activity 21. Choose the right answer.
The high court judge will pass… next week.
justice b. punishment c. sentence d. verdict
If you break the law, you will be … trouble.
for b. in c. out d. out of
The judge was very … on pickpockets.
bad b. hard c. strict d. strong
It was impossible for her to tell the truth so she had to .. a story.
combine b. invent c. lie d. manage
Peter gives one account of the accident, and John another; it is difficult to … the two versions.
adjust b. coincide c. identify d. reconcile
The witness testified that he could bear… what the defendant had claimed.
on b. out c. up d. with
The suspect is not under arrest, nor have the police placed any… on his movements.
obstacle b. regulation c. restriction d. veto
You should only make serious accusations like that if they have a sound … in fact.
basis b. foothold c. framework d. principle
The judge… the pedestrian for the accident.
accuses b. blamed c. charged d. sued
His legal training enables him to put his case … very convincingly.
down b. out c. over d up
Listening activity.
Before you listen express your opinion as for the following: Should we be hard or soft on young criminals? Should we throw them into prison, or should we try to understand and help?
√ Answer the questions:
Why did Louise’s parents react with horror to the news?
How did Louise die?
What was the attack like?
What was the verdict to the young killers?
How much time have the young criminals spent in prison and what was the sentence reduction?
√ Retell the text, picking out the most important information.
√ Which of these headlines would be suitable for the article? Explain your choice.
Shock at 12-year old girl’s death
Anger at early release of killers
Louise: murder charge dropped
√ Work out your own headline for the message.
Activity 22. Read the article and do the assignments suggested.
To defend? But at what price?
Lately a source of general concern has been the fact that people who witness crime refuse to testify in court. This is understandable: they are being blackmailed and their lives being threatened.
To defend witnesses, victims and experts against criminals, three laws were drafted and adopted by the Russian State Duma in the first reading. The goals are clear, but it is doubtful that they will be realized.
Who would argue that society is bound to take care of the people who expose criminals? One of theses laws explains hoe this should be carried out: careful protection of the person, protection of his home, substitution of his documents and even resettlement to another locality. But these measures can destroy the foundations of legal procedure. The Code of Criminal Procedure makes it incumbent on the court to study the evidence: question the accused, victims and witnesses and listen to the experts. This major legal principle will be violated if investigators begin to absolve witnesses and victims from the need to appear in court. One should bear in mind that more often than not agents and paid informers will be the ones freed from questioning. But any accusation may be framed with their help. There is a danger that courts will be flooded with the turbid current of misinformation and slanders intended to create the appearance that crimes are being exposed.
There is one more difficulty. The new law provides for the possibility to conceal from the accused the name of the person who exposed him. But in this case the defence cannot ask to question this person – to eliminate contradictions in the testimony of the case.
A witness may not be summoned to court. Instead, the judge may read his testimony, provision is made for a technical novelty: a witness can from home communicate to the court via television, radio, etc. Another variant is acceptable when judge comes to the witness’ home and then retells the testimony during the trial.
In the USA police are not afraid to disclose to the accused the source of their information if this is required by the defense. If need be, they can give the witness a new job, change his license plate number, his name, even his appearance.
According to the estimates over a million of civil case participants need to be protected. Of course, not every one of them needs permanent protection. But many would like to get it. For this a decent sum must be extracted from the taxpayers’ pockets.
Crime threatens the foundations of the legal system, but it would be naïve to hope that it may be eradicated at the price of curtailing the citizens constitutional rights.
Igor Petrov
“The Moscow Times”
Answer the questions
What does this article deal with?
How can a witness give testimony being out of court?
What does the law about witness protection imply?
Why is this law imperfect?
Could it be a problem for the defence, if there is no a witness in the court?
How does the witness protection program work in the USA?
Would you give testimony being a witness to any crime, even if you had to make radical changes about your life?
1.2 The 3d paragraph is to be translated.
Activity 23. Choose the word or phrase that best keeps the meaning of the original sentence.
A smiling face often disguises the mind and heart of a VILLAN.
a foolish man b. a lying man c. an unhappy man d. a wicked man
At first the accident seemed to be TRIVIAL.
critical b. momentous c. significant d. unimportant
There was no TRACE of poison in the coffee the chemist analyzed.
color b. indication c. smell d. taste
The FROWN on the judge’s face showed that he was displeased.
look of anger b. look of delight c. look of fear d. look of surprise
The night was so FOGGY that the murderer was easily able to escape his pursuers.
messy b. mild c. misty d. moist
The driver tried to AVERT the accident by bringing the car to a sudden stop.
cause b. control c. minimize d. prevent
The indecisive man was READILY persuaded to change his mind again.
a. abruptly b. easily c. hardly d. subtly
The officer COMPELLED the prisoner to do exactly as he wished.
allowed b. beseeched c. forced d. hired
The criminal INSINUATED that he had been roughly treated by the arresting officer.
argued convincingly b. denied positively c. stated flatly d. suggested indirectly
The boy felt DISGRACED because he knew that he had been wrong to steal.
ashamed b. phony c. tempted d. worried
The judge SENTENCED the convicted man.
gave a pardon b. gave high praise to c. passed judgment upon d. sympathized with
It is useless to attempt to FLEE from every danger. Some risk must be taken.
a. hide oneself b. protect oneself c. run away d. stay away
Useful-to-know activity. Study properly word-combinations and compose sentences of your own.
Criminal
* receiver – скупщик, укрыватель награбленного имущества;
hardened * - закоренелый преступник;
turn a * - вступить на путь совершения преступлений.
Murder
* in the 1st degree (first-degree *)– преступление первой степени.
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“Кожному гарантується недоторканність житла”. Стаття 30 Конституції України. |
Activity 24. Read the following text and do assignments suggested.
Growth of the Profession.
Today, the number of lawyers in the US exceeds 675,000. This translates to one lawyer for every 364 people. Twenty-five years ago, there was one lawyer for every 700 people. The rate at which the legal profession is growing will probably continue to outpace rate of population growth through the end of the century.
Why is career in law so popular? Market forces account for some of the allure. We know that in 1984 the average salary of experienced lawyers was 88,000 dollars. If we could include in this average the salaries of all lawyers, whatever their experience, the figure would probably be much lower, certainly well below the 108,000 dollars average salary of physicians. But lawyers’ salaries are still substantially greater than those of many other professionals. Salaries for newly minted lawyers heading for elite New York law firms exceeded 71,000 dollars in 1987; some firms offered additional bonuses for clerkship experience in the federal courts and state supreme courts. The glamour of legal practice strengthens the attraction of its financial rewards.
There are other reasons for the popularity of the legal profession and the unquenchable demand for legal services. Materialism and individualism in American culture encourage dispute. Federalism gives separate legal systems for each state plus the national government. Advertising can now create demand for legal services, too. Finally, the principles of separation of powers and of checks and balances make governing difficult and sometimes impossible. When political institutions act, they often are forced to compromise, deferring critical issues to the courts. Pluralist democracy operates when groups are able to press their interests on, and even challenge, the government. The expression of group demands in a culture that encourages lawsuits thrusts on the courts all manner of dispute and interests. Is it wonder that America needs all the lawyers it can train?
Answer the questions:
Why is the number of lawyers in the US increasing?
What factors create demand for legal services?
What is the popularity rate of the lawyer profession in your country?
Find in the text the English equivalents for the words below and compose sentences of your own:
превышать;
премия;
адвокатская практика;
уровень роста населения;
средняя заработная плата;
опытные юристы;
система сдержек и противовесов;
оставить спорные вопросы на рассмотрение суда;
создать спрос на что-либо.
Activity 25. You are a judge. You must decide how long to send the accused to prison for. You can also acquit.
The accused is a prisoner of war. Your country has just defeated his. He was a pilot. He dropped an atom bomb on your tenth largest city killing 200,000 people and injuring many more.
The accused is a doctor. He gave an overdose to an 85-year-old painter who had terminal cancer. The painter had asked for the overdose. The painter’s family accuse the doctor of murder.
The accused found her husband in their bed with another woman. She took the breadknife and killed him.
This man is a well-known leader of a radical organization. He was tried for possessing one marijuana cigarette and sentenced to ten years in prison. He is appealing the decision.
The three teenage boys were having a fight with a fourth boy near a swimming pool. They threw him in the water and then stood on him till he drowned.
Activity 26. Points for discussion:
Crime is a kind of disease and should be treated as such.
Small crimes always proceed great ones.
Suicide should not be considered to be a crime.
Violence is sometimes justified.
There is no justification for terrorism.
Prostitution and sale of light drugs should be legal.
Capital punishment is a deterrent against crime.
Ownership of guns must be carefully regulated by the government.
Abortion could be considered to be a crime and must be banned.
Activity 27. Read the situations and say whether you break the law.
You’re waiting to cross the street at a pedestrian crossing. The lights are red for pedestrians, but there are no cars. Can you cross?
You’re in a large city park, which has lots of trees and grass. It’s a beautiful summer’s day and the sun is shining. Can you walk on the grass?
You’re with some little children and you’d like to have a drink in a bar. Can they go with you?
You’re in a restaurant but you don’t know what the food is like. Can you walk into the kitchen and have a look?
You’re in the cinema and you’d like a cigarette. There is no sign, which says into smoking. So can you smoke?
Activity 28. Write a letter to a newspaper giving your opinion about the judgment.
A judge ordered an 82-year-old man to pay $4,000 damages to a burglar who was trying to break into his house. Jack Lewis was asleep in his house in Maidstone when he heard noises. He picked up his shotgun and went downstairs where he found Michael Philips in the hall with a bag full of electrical equipment. Phillips claimed that because he was unarmed, he put the goods down and raised his hands when he saw the shotgun. Lewis said, Phillips had turned to run out of the open front door, so he shot him. Phillips suffered minor wounds to the legs. In the trial, the judge said despite the fact that Lewis was defending his own property, the shotgun was unlicensed and in any case it was not acceptable for people to take the law into their own hands.
Useful-to-know activity. Study properly word-combinations and compose sentences of your own.