Innocent case

1 A court ___________ the former boss of a first division football club to one year in __________ and another year __________ for rigging a soccer match. The sentence was harsher than the six-month term sought by the ____________.

2 The mayor of a major town was found _________ of fraud when he was finally brought to __________ last month. He fled the country two years ago when an inquiry revealed he had been using taxpayers’ money to finance personal projects. The former mayor was ____________ from America in January. He received a two - year prison __________ and was ___________.

3 A _________ sentenced one of Europe’s most wanted men to seven months’ jail for possession of ___________ documents. After serving the sentence he is likely to be _________ to Italy where he had escaped from jail after he was ____________ of murder in 1991.

4 A 40-year-old man was found not _________ of murder by a __________ in Birmingham this week. The man had been __________ with the murder of a neighbour in May 1993 and had spent over a year behind bars before his ___________ finally came to court this month. The man was overwhelmed with relief as he left the ___________ with his wife. His ____________ is making a compensation claim for the months he spent in prison.

Criminal procedure:

Vocabulary Practice – 2

1. Fill in the gaps in the text. The first letter of each word has been given:

When someone is a_____ for c_____ an o_____, he is taken to the police station for i_____. If the police decide there is a c_____ against him, he is c_____ with the offence, that is to say the police formally a_____ him of committing it. After this, the accused appears before a m_____. This is a well-respected member of the public who is empowered to decide, with a lawyer’s help, what to do about minor cases. If the m______ finds the accused g_____, he will s_____ him to pay a f_____, or some other minor p_____.

More serious cases are passed up to the Crown C_____, where the a_____ is t_____ for the offence by a j_____, and usually a j_____. Very serious cases are heard in the high courts in London. The accused may have to wait a long time to s_____ trial. Sometimes he can pay b_____, as a kind of guarantee, and await the trial in freedom. In other cases, he is remanded in c_____ by the magistrate, and must wait in a cell, in a police station or a remand prison.

At the trial, the accused p_____ guilty or not guilty. If he p_____ not guilty, the jury, composed of twelve ordinary citizens, has to decide if he is guilty or not. This decision is called their v_____. The judge directs proceedings, and decides what punishment to give, if any. The lawyers who try to persuade the jury are called b_____. In court, the one on the side of the accused is known as the C_____ for the D_____, and the one against him is called the C_____ for the P_____. Each barrister calls w_____ to give e_____ in support of his case. The witnesses can be cross-examined by the other counsel, who tries to persuade the jury that the evidence is untrue or not important.

When all the evidence has been heard, the judge s_____ up the case and explains legal points for the jury’s benefit. He must not try to influence their decision, however. The jury retires to another room, where they try to r_____ a verdict. If they find the accused guilty as charged, we say he has been c____ of the offence. The judge then passes s_____. He may s_____ the guilty person to p_____ a fine, to a number of years’ i_____, or to some other punishment. If the verdict is ‘not guilty’, we say the accused has been a_____ of the offence, and he goes free. If the accused feels there was something unfair about the trial, he may a_____ to the A_____ Courts, where three judges decide the case.