Text b Judges in Great Britain

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. There is no separate training for judges. They are trained as barristers. Judges cannot work as barristers once they are appointed. A barrister who is a part-time judge is known as a Recorder.

Reading tasks

Answer these questions.

1 How do we call an officer acting as a judge in the lower courts?

2 What kind of people are Magistrates?

3 Why are they selected?

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

5 How are judges trained?

6 Who is called a Recorder?

Unit 28 Lawyers in the usa

Before you read

Discuss these questions.

1 How do lay people describe a lawyer’s duties?

2 Why is a lawyer’s job so important?

3 Why are lawyers’ fees high?

Text a The Job of the Lawyers

A lawyer in the United States is often called an “attorney”. Attorney at law is a person admitted to practise law in their respective state and authorized to perform both civil and criminal legal functions for clients, including drafting of legal documents, giving of legal advice, and representing such before courts, administrative agencies, boards, etc.

Today, the number of lawyers in the United States 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.

The glamour of legal practice strengthens the attraction of its financial rewards. For some people, the image of a lawyer is someone who leads a very wealthy and comfortable life. However, it should not be forgotten that there are also lawyers whose lives are not so secure. The Wall Street attorney probably earns a high salary, but the small firm giving advice to members of the public on welfare rights or immigration procedures may have to restrict salaries in order to stay in business.

Vocabulary

admit v допускать

allure n привлекательность

appointee n получивший назначение

challenge v бросать вызов

defer v уступать; оставить

draft v составлять (документы)

exposure n выставление; показ; public exposure публичность

glamour n чары; волшебство

harbour v питать (чувства); утаивать, скрывать

issue n предмет спора; спорный вопрос

judicial district n судебный округ

outpace v обгонять

reward n вознаграждение; награда

unquenchable adj неутомимый, неугасимый

welfare n благосостояние