Unit 3 Discussion Points

Task 1. Discuss the following points with your fellow students:

1. A trial is a lottery

2. Where there is no dispute as to the fact, juries should not be necessary.

3. Courts are or­derly, dignified, deliberate, and im­partial.

4. Massive delay a shrewd de­fendant can infuse into the disposition of his case.

5. No lawyer really wants a fair and impartial juror.

Task 2. Give a short newspaper review on:

Difficulties a judge faces

Difficulties a victim encounters when he/she comes to court

Weaknesses of jury trial

Remember that your interview should appeal to the interests of the interested readers. It can be neutral, emotional, and descriptive. Prove your point of view.

Task 3. Work in pairs. Discuss any of judiciary problems of today. You may speak about:

• burden of proof

• presumption of innocence

• massive delays in case hearing

• unscrupulous lawyer

• manipulative defendents and so on.

One of the students is supposed to introduce a subject of mutual interest; the other student disagrees or agrees with his partner’s point of view.

Task 4. Speak on the topic: “Judge’s work is challenging and rewarding because…”

Task 6. Team work. Case Study: The following situations are based on real cases from the federal courts. Consider the arguments, then decide how you would rule. Compare your answers with actual case results.

Mrs. Smith was only slightly interested when her son, a high-school senior, told her he was taking a new course in tran­scendental meditation. But her cu­riosity was aroused when she found him chanting and burning incense in his bedroom.

Questioned, her son reported that he was being taught about the search for the ultimate reality of intelligence and bliss.

"Why, that's religion," Mrs. Smith fumed. "And they certainly can't teach that in public school." She sued to stop the course.

"This is not a class in religion," said the school-board lawyer. "It's only a course in philosophy." Would you allow the high school to teach transcendental meditation?

Chapter 3. How Americans Cope With Crime unit 1. Giving the summary of the text Text 1

Task 1. Answer the questions:

1. Is there much crime in the area where you live?

2. Do you worry about personal safety when away from home?

3. Do you know or use any means of protect­ing yourself?

Task 2. Read the text to get the main idea paying special attention to the underlined parts of the text (key words and word combinations)

One of every four households in the United States suffered property crime last year. One household of every 20 reported a mugging, robbery or other assault. This year 37 percent of Americans believe that there is more crime in the area where they live than there was a year ago. The result: many Americans are chang­ing the way they live their lives.

• Since his home was burglarized, Michael Roth of Pontiac, Mich., has installed a steel-reinforced front door. When he goes out, he leaves the lights on and radio playing.

•With street robberies on the increase in her area, Endia London will not leave her New York City apartment house, even to buy groceries, unless her husband drives her in the car.

•Disturbed by the number of rapes reported, some women have given up jogging, and are taking karate lessons as a means of protect­ing themselves. They also carry Mace and police whistles in their handbags.

A Reader's Digest/Gallup Survey, based on in-person interviews with 1555 representative Americans 18 years of age and over (some of whom asked that their names be disguised or not used), presents a portrait of a nation afraid, with the fear cutting across geographical boundaries, ethnic divisions, income levels, age groups, sex, and marital status. While only one of five men worries about personal safety when away from home during the day, the figure soars to 33 percent of women. Particularly worried are those people who reside in central cities (36 percent) where crime rates are highest, persons with family incomes below $13,000 (32 percent), and blacks (45 percent).

Although the low-cost housing project where Miguel Guillen lives is only a block from Manhattan's elegant Lincoln Center, residents hesitate to push their way through the throng of pot-smoking youths loitering around the entrance, and are even more afraid to ride the elevators alone. "If anybody harms my wife or children," Guillen swears, "I'll go for his life."

Harold Knuth of Sheboygan, Wis., carries only the change in his pockets and no credit cards when he leaves the house, making his purchases by check. Johnny York of East Cleveland, Ohio, thinks this is a mistake. "If the criminals don't find a few bills on you," he says, "they're liable to cut you up just to teach you a lesson."