Judges in Great Britain

Read the following text and answer the questions.

In Britain, the vast majority of judges (that is, the people who decide what should be done with people who commit crimes) are unpaid. They are called "Magistrates", or "Justices of the Peace" (JPs). They are ordinary citizens who are selected not because they have any legal training but because they have "sound common sense" and understand their fellow human beings. They give up time voluntarily.

A small proportion of judges are not Magistrates. They are called "High Court Judges" and they deal with the most serious crimes, such as those for which the criminal might be sent to prison for more than a year. High Court Judges, unlike Magistrates, are paid salaries by the State and have considerable legal training.

Magistrates are selected by special committees in every town and district. Nobody, not even the Magistrates themselves, knows who is on the special committee in their area. The committee tries to draw Magistrates from as wide a variety of professions and social classes as possible.

1. What kind of people are Magistrates?

2. Why are they selected?

3. Who would judge a person who had committed a crime like murder?

4. Who selects Magistrates and what is unusual about the system?

3. Work in pairs. Discuss the following.

"Criminals should be punished." How do you feel about that?

4. Combine the following pairs of sentences into one according to the model.

EXAMPLE: We had a case. A woman stole a post office savings book.

We had a case of a woman who stole a post office savings book.

a) We had a case. Someone attacked a man.

b) I remember having a case. Three men broke into a house.

c) I've never had a case. A man robbed a bank.

d) A colleague had a case. A young boy took a motor cycle.

Entering the profession

What do usually lawyers do? Can you answer at once? If you can’t read the text below and say whether the list of lawyers’ functions is complete.

Lawyers perform four major functions

1. First, lawyers counsel. This means that lawyers offer advice, even if it is advice their clients would prefer not to hear. Of course, lawyers regularly counsel clients during negotiations & litigation.

2. Second, lawyers negotiate. This means that they mediate between competing interests aiming for results that will prove advantageous to their clients and, if possible, their opponents.

3. Third, lawyers draft documents. This is probably their most intel­lectually challenging function.

4. Fourth, they litigate. This is the skill most people associate with lawyers. Ironically, only a small fraction of all lawyers devote much time to courtroom activities. In fact, the majority of attorneys never venture to work in a courthouse except to file legal papers with a clerk.

Negotiation (n) — переговоры; обсуждение условий

negotiate (v) — вести переговоры, дело; обсуждать условия

mediate (v) — посредничать

aim (v) — стремиться

advantageous (adj) — благоприятный, выгодный

draft (v) — составлять (документ; проект)

litigate (v) — 1. судиться; быть тяжущейся стороной; 2. оспаривать (на суде)

venture (v) — 1. рисковать; 2. отважиться, решиться

5. Professional Titles Quiz. You’ve learnt a lot about different types of legal professions. Now test yourself matching the following hints with the law professional titles.

Barristers, High Court Judges, Magistrates, solicitors, attorneys

1. English lawyers who judge cases in the lower courts. They’re usually unpaid and have no legal qualifications, but they’re respectable people who are given some training.

2. They make up the largest branch of the legal profession in England and Wales (Уэльс). They are found in every town where they deal with all the day-to-day work of preparing legal documents for buying and selling houses, making wills, etc. These lawyers also work on court cases for their clients, prepare cases for other lawyers to present in the higher courts, and may represent their client in a Magistrates’ Court.

3. Each federal judicial district has this lawyer who is appointed by the President.

4. Only a small proportion of these lawyers doesn’t preside in Magistrates’ Courts. They deal with the most serious crimes, such as those for which the criminal might be sent to prison for more than a year. They are paid salaries by the State and have considerable legal training.

5. They defend or prosecute in the English higher courts. They specialize in representing clients in court. In court, these lawyers wear wigs and gowns in keeping with the extreme formality of the proceedings. The highest level of them have the title QC (Queens Counsel).

6. Read the text. Then agree or disagree with the statement: “It’s very difficult to become a lawyer.”