Unit 16.

Ex. 210. Look through the text, mark the words and word combinations concerning the court system.

Perjury

Perjury is the act of lying or making verifiably false statements on a material matter under oath or affirmation in a court of law or in any of various sworn statements in writing. Perjury is a crime because the witness has sworn to tell the truth and, for the credibility of the court, witness testimony must be relied on as being truthful. Perjury is considered a very serious crime as it could be used to usurp the power of the courts, resulting in miscarriages of justice. In the United States, for example, the general perjury statute under Federal law provides for a prison sentence of up to five years.

The rules for perjury also apply to witnesses who have affirmed they are telling the truth. Affirmation is used by a witness who is unable to swear to tell the truth. For example, in the United Kingdom a witness may swear on the Bible or other holy book. If a witness has no religion, or does not wish to swear on a holy book, the witness may make an affirmation he or she is telling the truth instead.

The rules for perjury also apply when a person has made a statement under penalty of perjury, even if the person has not been sworn or affirmed as a witness before an appropriate official. An example of this is the United States' income tax return, which, by law, must be signed as true and correct under penalty of perjury. Federal tax law provides criminal penalties of up to three years in prison for violation of the tax return perjury statute.

Statements of interpretation of fact are not perjury because people often make inaccurate statements unwittingly and not deliberately. Individuals may have honest but mistaken beliefs about certain facts or their recollection may be inaccurate. Like most other crimes in the common law system, to be convicted of perjury you have to have had the intention (the mens rea) to commit the act, and to have actually committed the act (the actus reus).

In some countries such as France, suspects cannot be heard under oath and thus do not commit perjury, whatever they say during their trial.

Ex. 211. Translate the expressions.

• income tax

• verifiably

• affirmation

• unwittingly

• credibility

• intention

• miscarriage

• appropriate

• violation

• commit perjury

• recollection

Ex. 212. Give the adequate translation of the sentences. Pay attention to the underlined words.

1. She has issued a statement that she intends to be a candidate. 2. The prosecution did its best to undermine the credibility of the witness. 3. I have no recollection of meeting her before. 4. They were in open violation of the treaty. 5. I can affirm that no one will lose their job. 6. All the maps we had were wildly inaccurate. 7. The insurance plan will provide substantial benefits to your family in case of your death. 8. She’s been deliberately ignoring him all day. 9. He acted in violation of the law. 10. More credit were to be given to her bare negation than to their affirmation. 11. In order to discover truth, we must be truthful ourselves. 12. The ministry affirmed that the visit had been postponed. 13. The new law provides for equality of human rights. 14. It is inaccurate to say that she was dismissed. 15. I’ll leave you to verify whether these claims are true.

Ex. 213. Use the proper prepositions.

Perjury is the act ……….. lying or making verifiably false statements on a material matter …………… oath or affirmation ………….. a court of law or in any of various sworn statements ……………. writing. Witness testimony must be relied …………… as being truthful. Perjury is considered a very serious crime as it could be used to usurp the power …………… the courts, resulting in miscarriages …………. justice.

The rules ………… perjury also apply to witnesses who have affirmed they are telling the truth. Affirmation is used ………… a witness who is unable to swear to tell the truth. If a witness has no religion, or does not wish to swear ………… a holy book, the witness may make an affirmation he or she is telling the truth instead.

Statements of interpretation ………… fact are not perjury because people often make inaccurate statements unwittingly and not deliberately. Like most other crimes …………… the common law system, to be convicted ………… perjury you have to have had the intention (the mens rea) to commit the act, and to have actually committed the act (the actus reus).

Ex.214. Find equivalents to the following

credibility of testimony vague recollection minor violation take an oath, swear an oath miscarriage of justice per capita income unwitting accomplice to confirm a statement

дать клятву достоверность свидетельских показаний доход на человека, на душу населения невольный свидетель незначительное нарушение судебная ошибка подтверждать заявление смутное воспоминание

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Ex. 215. Find and translate the words.

TALYNEP

NINETOTIN

MYNOTEIST

LOVTAIOIN

EURICANCAT

GRIMCAISEAR

ILUNAIDVDI

TESSCUP

Ex. 216. Link the following notions with proper statement.

1. Perjury	a) sometimes called the external elements of a crime — is the Latin term for the "guilty act" which refers to the physical parts of the crime.
2.Affirmation	b) forms the final act of a judge-ruled process. It generally involves a decree of imprisonment, a fine and/or other punishments against a defendant convicted of a crime.
3. Miscarriage of justice	c) are usually monetary fines, levied against a party to a legal action or his attorney, for violating rules of procedure, or for abusing the judicial process.
4. The actus reus	d) is the act of lying or making verifiably false statements under oath or affirmation in a court.
5. The mens rea	e) has exactly the same legal effect as an oath, but is usually taken to avoid the religious implications of an oath.
6. The sentence	f) Latin term for "guilty mind" which is made up of those elements which relate to the state of mind of the accused.
7. Sanctions	g) is primarily the conviction and punishment of a person for a crime that he or she did not commit.

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Ex. 217. Read.

Just for fun!

☺

Prosecutor: I'll ask you one last time, did you kill the victim? Defendant: No sir, I did not. Prosecutor: Do you know what the penalties are for perjury? Defendant: Yes sir, I do. And I know they're a lot better than the penalty for murder.

Ex. 218. Translate the texts.

A. В ходе очередного судебного заседания по делу экс-президента Ирака Саддама Хусейна, обвиняемого в расстреле 148 шиитов в деревне Дуджейль, разразился громкий скандал. В качестве свидетеля со стороны защиты выступил человек, ранее дававший показания со стороны обвинения, который заявил, что ранее прокурор “Джафар аль-Муссауи заплатил ему $500 за дачу показаний и пригрозил никому об этом не говорить”.

B. Совет по американо-исламским отношениям (CAIR) призвал судей Северной Калифорнии разрешить лицам, дающим показания, использовать Коран во время клятвы.

Это заявление было сделано после того, как судьи графства Гуилфорд заявили, что не позволят использовать Коран в ходе процессов. Так, судья Дуглас Олбрайт заявил, что клятва на Коране является "незаконной", и добавил, что тот, кто не хочет клясться на Библии, может просто принести суду свои "заверения".

Административный совет по судам Северной Каролины на прошлой неделе выразил свое предварительное мнение по этому вопросу, заявив, что законодательство штата разрешает приносить присягу на Коране точно так же, как и на Библии. В связи с этим CAIR готов предоставить любому судье Северной Каролины экземпляр Корана "для личного ознакомления со священным текстом".

Ex. 219. Use the proper prepositions in the expressions.

swear …………. the Bible

to make statements on a material matter …………. oath

rely …………. witness testimony

tell ………….the truth

make a statement …………. penalty of perjury

affirm as a witness …………. an appropriate official

penalties …………. violation of the perjury statute

beliefs …………. certain facts

to be convicted …………. perjury

Ex.220. Find equivalents to the following.

appropriate credibility violation affirmation miscarriage verifiable provide deliberately inaccurate unwitting

достоверность; правдивость назначать, предназначать, предопределять невольный, непреднамеренный; непредумышленный неточный, неправильный, ошибочный неудача, ошибка; промах, просчет сознательно, осознанно, обдуманно обусловливать, предусматривать поддающийся проверке нарушение торжественное заявление

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Ex. 221. Read about this people.

Former U.S. President Bill Clinton was accused of perjury - and as a result was fined for contempt of court, agreed to be disbarred, and was impeached by the House of Representatives on December 19, 1998. The Senate rejected the perjury with 55 not-guilty votes and 45 guilty votes. No criminal charges were ever brought.

Former Houston Police Chief C.O. Bradford - was indicted by Harris County District Attorney Chuck Rosenthal for alleged swearing at fellow Houston Police officers; perjury charge was dismissed due to the lack of evidence and/or fabricated charges.

Rafael Palmeiro faced perjury charges (but was never charged) for possible false testimony in front of Congress regarding steroid use in professional baseball.

Ex. 222. Make up sentences.

Perjury is the act of lying 2. Statements of interpretation of fact are not perjury 3. You will be convicted of perjury 4. Perjury is considered a very serious crime 5. If a witness has no religion, or does not wish to swear on a holy book,

as it could result in miscarriages of justice. because people often make inaccurate statements unwittingly and not deliberately. under oath or affirmation in a court of law. the witness may make an affirmation he or she is telling the truth. if you have had the intention (the mens rea) to commit the act, and have actually committed the act (the actus reus).

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Ex. 223. Link the synonyms.

recollect violation oath miscarriage truthful apply unwitting deliberately appropriate prison mistake sentence

crime error honest intentionally jail mistake punishment refer remember suitable unintentional vow

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Ex. 224. Translate the sentences.

1. To the best of my recollection (= if I remember correctly) I was not present at that meeting. 2. That such a report existed in Claudian's time cannot now be affirmed. 3. A prison sentence should match the severity of the crime. 4. The prosecution did its best to undermine the credibility of the witness. 5. Now that the problem has been identified, appropriate action can be taken. 6. She accused the press photographers of violating her privacy. 7. You could see from his face that he was lying. 8. Predictions of an early improvement in the housing market proved false. 9. His statement was seen as an allusion to the recent drug-related killings. 10. This is confidential but I know I can rely on your discretion. 11. The final section provides that any work produced for the company is thereafter owned by the company. 12. "Miscarriage of justice" is sometimes synonymous with wrongful conviction, referring to a conviction reached in an unfair or disputed trial.

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