Unit 9: criminal justice process in the United States and the United kingdom

Text 1: CRIMINAL JUSTICE PROCESS IN THE USA

Basically, the steps in the criminal court processes are as follows: arrest and booking, arraignment, trial and appeals (if any).

A person who comes into contact with the criminal courts must initially be arrested. The arrest may take place with or without using a warrant (e.g. when an offense takes place in the presence of the officer, or when there is probable or reasonable cause to believe that a felony or misdemeanor has been committed). A felony is a serious offense punish­able by death or imprisonment. A misdemeanor is a less serious offense punishable by a fine or up to one year in jail, or both. Even after an arrest the suspect may be released without being prosecuted for a variety of reasons: mistaken identity, lack of proper evidence, etc.

After the arrest is made, the suspect is booked. The booking card of the law enforcement agency contains information such as the date and time of arrest, the charge or crime for which the person was ar­rested, the name of the arrested person, the name of the arresting offi­cer. Here the accused is photographed, fingerprinted, and temporarily released on bail, if possible. The record or booking card is permanently kept in the files of the police department. On important cases, the prosecutor may be present at the booking, but usually he will enter the case during the arraignment or initial appearance of the suspect before a magistrate or other judicial officer. Before turning to the prosecution of the suspect, it must be remembered that the investigative work of the police may continue even though the accused is involved with the prosecution or court phases of the criminal justice system.

At arraignment, summary trials can be held for petty offenses with­out further processing. During the initial appearance before a magis­trate¹, judge or justice of the peace², the accused is to answer the charges against him. During the arraignment procedure, the charge may be dismissed by the court for a legal reason or the prosecutor may re­quest to have the charges dropped³. The initial appearance may also serve as the trial for minor offenses that have payment of a fine or a relatively short time in jail as punishment. Once the judge finds a verdict of guilt⁴, the accused is sentenced to jail or payment of a fine. The de­fendant may also be placed on probation for a specified length of time. If sentenced to jail, he may be granted parole.

The purpose of preliminary hearing in the lower court is to de­termine whether there is a reasonable cause to believe that a felony was committed and whether there is a reasonable cause to believe that the accused committed the crime. It is here that a preliminary testing of the evidence takes place. As a result the accused may be released because of having been arrested not for probable cause, or he may be placed on bail or moved back to jail until his case is tried by the higher court.

If there is a reasonable belief that a crime has been committed the accused, the prosecutor is given statutorily defined number of days to file formal charges against the defendant. The charge is filed on the basis of information from citizen complaints and police investigations.

Then another arraignment is held. If the defendant pleads guilty a date for him to be sentenced is set by the judge. If the defendant pleads not guilty, he may request to have a jury trial or be tried by the court without a jury. At the trial, if the defendant is convicted, a date for sentencing is set.

Before imposing the actual sentence an investigation by the proba­tion officer takes place to assist the judge in deciding on a penalty. The defendant may be fined, sentenced to jail, or placed on probation. During this period the defendant can appeal his conviction. As a rule, the appeal stays the execution of the sentence. If the appeal is unsuc­cessful or the defendant decides not to appeal, the penalty is imposed.

The defendant is then involved in the corrections of the criminal justice system. It is here that rehabilitation of offenders is supposed to occur⁵. This is the purpose of correctional establishments.

To reduce the risk of convicting an innocent person, there are checks and reviews at all stages of the criminal justice system.

(Law Enforcement in a Democratic Society, E. Beckman)

Notes to the text:

1) a magistrate — магистрат, судья полицейского суда

2) justice of the peace — мировой судья

3) have the charges dropped — прекратить дело

4) once the judge finds a verdict of guilt — как только судья выносит обвинительный приговор

5) is supposed to occur — как полагают, происходит

 

Exercise 1: Find English equivalents in the text:

уголовный процесс; обвинение; судебное разбирательство; обжалование; произвести арест; ордер; совершить тяжкое преступление; тюремное заключение; подозреваемый; правоохранительные органы; обвиняемый; снимать отпечатки пальцев; картотека; упрощенное судопроизводство; мелкие правонарушения; суд низшей инстанции; слушать дело; подвергать уголовному преследованию; признать себя виновным; суд присяжных; вынести приговор; определить наказание; осудить условно; передать на поруки; перевоспитать; исправительные учреждения.

 

Exercise 2: Give Russian equivalents:

I. law; by-law, law-breaker, lawyer, law enforcement; lawful; to make laws; to obey laws; to enact laws; to pass laws; to violate laws;

II. to prevent; to prevent offenses, prevention of crime; preventive; preventive measures; a preventive war,

III. crime; a criminal; a criminal case; criminality; a criminological study, to commit a crime; to reduce crime; to eliminate crime.

 

Exercise 3: Find synonyms among the following words:

law, purpose, period, to force, a criminal, verdict, to define, aim, to obtain, penalty, duty, offense; evidence; to formulate, term, to get, punishment, to break, crime, offender, sentence, to violate, to oblige, cause, statute, obligation, reason, proof.

 

Exercise 4: Translate the following groups of words:

criminal justice process; trial court arraignment; law enforcement agen­cies; police investigations; citizen complaints; a jury trial; a police de­partment file; an imprisonment sentence; an arraignment procedure; a higher court trial; a ten-pound fine; a five-hundred dollar bail; a dead body identification; prosecution or court phases.

 

Exercise 5: Complete the sentences with one of the words given below:

misdemeanor, released, summarily, charges, evidence, parole, fine, guilt, convicted, trial, felonies, booking, rehabilitate, appeal, charge

1. There can be no conviction unless the... of the defendant is established.

2. After making the arrest the officer may conduct a «limited» search for... of the guilt of the person.

3. During the arraignment procedure the... may be dismissed.

4. If a judge finds a verdict of guilt, the accused is sentenced to jail or payment of a....

5. In some jurisdictions there is no separate preliminary hearing for misdemeanors and....

6. At the... a date for sentencing is set.

7. The procedure of... includes photographing and fingerprinting.

8. A person charged with a petty offense can be tried....

9. The purpose of corrections is to... offenders.

10. The procedure of prosecutions for a felony is the same as for a ….

11. If the defendant is... at the trial the date for sentencing is set.

12. The defendant can... his conviction before the actual sentence is imposed.

13. Even if the defendant is sentenced to jail, he may be granted ….

14. During the arraignment the judge... the accused with a spe­cific crime.

15. The accused may be... at the preliminary hearing if there is no reasonable cause to believe that he committed the crime.

 

Exercise 6: Say what it is:

1. A formal order given by a judge or a prosecutor to arrest a person is called....

2. The decision of a court made after the trial of a defendant is called....

3. A fine, imprisonment or probation — all these are different types of....

4. A sum of money paid by the person arrested for being released until the trial is called....

5. If a person breaks the law or violates public order it means that he commits a....

6. All facts and things that must be presented to court to prove the guilt of the accused are called....

7. If a person is convicted and the penalty is not a fine or impris­onment but placing him under control of a special police offi­cer it means that a person is placed on....

8. If a person pleads not guilty and does not agree with the sen­tence he may file an....

9. A panel usually consisting of 12 persons to hold trials is called....

 

Exercise 7: Give your definition of the following:

1. The accused is a person who...

2. A criminal is a person who...

3. The defendant is a person who...

4. The suspect is a person who...

5. The convict is a person who...

 

Exercise 8: Translate into English:

1. Уголовный процесс имеет следующие стадии: арест и регистрация, привлечение к суду, предварительное слушание, предъявление обвинения, судебное разбирательство и обжалование.

2. Арест должен производиться на основании постановления (ордера).

3. Тяжкое преступление – это преступление, наказуемое смертной казнью или тюремным заключением.

4. Менее тяжкое уголовное преступление – это преступление, наказуемое штрафом или тюремным заключением до 1 года.

5. После предварительного слушания лицу предъявляется официальное обвинение.

6. На стадии привлечения к суду обвинение может быть отклонено.

7. Если обвиняемый признает себя виновным, устанавливается дата вынесения приговора.

8. После судебного разбирательства обвиняемый может обжаловать приговор.

9. Обвиняемый может быть осужден только судом.

10. Подозреваемый может быть временно отпущен под залог.

 

Exercise 9: Translate the sentences into Russian:

1. After having been identified the offender was arrested by po­lice.

2. The court suspected the evidence of having been obtained un­lawfully.

3. He was charged with not having taken the victim to a hospital after the accident.

4. Who is responsible for the criminals not having been arrested yet?

5. In this case the arrest preceded a formal accusation, having been made by a police officer who witnessed the offense.

6. The police accused the driver of being drunk.

7. A person arrested at a crime scene for having committed an offense, must be brought before a magistrate within a limited period of time.

8. The defendant was not informed of the right of being provided with legal counsel at the trial.

9. Under established rules, some evidence is inadmissible, espe­cially if there is doubt of its being obtained lawfully.

10.The police suspected him of having been prosecuted before.

11.One of the aspects of punishment implies that an offender must be afraid of being punished.

12.The witness insisted on having seen the criminal quite clearly.

13.Instead of being placed in jail the accused was released on bail.

14.The man was accused of having violated the traffic rules.

 

Text 2: Read and translate the following text:

Detective McFadden, a policeman for thirty-nine years, was on afternoon patrol in a city when he saw two men standing at a corner. One of them passed a shop, looked at the window, went a short dis­tance, and then returned to the window for another look. Then the other man repeated all these actions. After this took place many times the two men walked off together. Officer McFadden realized that the men were preparing for a possible robbery. He followed them, when they stopped he came up to them, searched them and found two 38 caliber revolvers. He took the men with the guns to a police station where they were charged with carrying the weapons.

The lawyers for the defendants said that the weapons seized were inadmissible because they were illegally seized. But at the trial the men were convicted. They appealed to the US Supreme Court. The Court ruled that the guns were seized in a legal manner, because officer McFadden had acted in a «reasonable» manner in that, based on his years of experience, he believed that a robbery was going to take place and it would involve weapons. So the life of the officer and possibly the lives of innocent citizens were in danger. The Court upheld the convic­tion.

 

Text 3: Read and translate the text:

Crimes are classified into 1) indictable offenses and 2) summary offenses.

Indictable offenses are tried by jury. They include: a) Treason, b) felonies and c) misdemeanors. Summary offenses are those which are not tried by jury or which are tried summarily.

The differences between felonies and misdemeanors are as follows:

Felonies Misdemeanors

Admit of accessories Do not

Admit of arrest without a Do not

warrant

Civil proceedings cannot be Does not apply

taken against an offender be­

fore criminal proceedings

Cannot be tried on a criminal Can be so tried

information

 

Notes:

indictable — преследуемый по обвинительному акту

Treason — преступление против государства

accessory — соучастник преступления

 

Text 4: Read and say what you think about it:

I. According to the British laws a person cannot be tried twice or more times on the same charge. If he has been tried and found not guilty he may not be brought before a court if new evidence of great importance has been obtained to prove his guilt.

II. The law is not something that can be changed at will (произвольно).

Laws should govern people and not on the contrary. People are equal before the law.

Dura lex, sed lex (Strict is the law, but a law) — is a saying of An­cient Rome.

"The law is the last result of human wisdom (мудрость) acting upon human experience for the benefit (на благо) of the public", — these words belong to the celebrated English author Samuel Johnson.

In these and other sayings is reflected people's respect of law and justice. There is widespread belief that observance of laws is a guarantee against injustice.

Still, this is only one aspect of the problem. The problem is whether the social and state system of the country prevents violation of the law and guarantees the right way of administering justice. Not in every society the formula "All are equal before the law" is effective though it is proclaimed in constitutions.

Yet there are instances when laws are illegal themselves.

Such laws cannot be respected.

III. In actual practice a great number of arrests are made by the police without an arrest warrant. Arrest without a warrant is permitted in "special circumstances", such as situations in which:

1. The attempt (покушение) or actual commission of a crime oc­curs in the presence of a police officer.

2. There is probable cause for the police officer to believe that a crime is being committed in his presence.

3. Though the crime has not been committed in his presence, there is probable cause for the police to believe it has been committed and that a person to be arrested has done it. The courts have ruled that ex­ceptions (исключения) to the need for an arrest are justified by the circumstances. The most basic exception is that police action is needed to prevent the commission of a criminal act. Other reasons include the realization that if the police did not act, it is highly probable that the person to be arrested would escape (сбегать), that the person would cause other people to be harmed (пострадать) or that evidence of the crime would be destroyed.

 

Text 5:

The criminal justice system is composed of those agencies which must enforce the laws that society has enacted for its self-protection and preservation. Theoretically, it is an integrated apparatus whose functions are to apprehend, prosecute, convict, sentence, and correct offenders. The US system is federal by its nature, i.e. it consists of three subsys­tems: state, local and federal criminal justice agencies. The system is composed of three components: police, court, corrections. Each com­ponent must contribute to the same goal — the prevention and control of crime and the rehabilitation of offenders. So the effectiveness of the whole system depends on the efficient functioning of each component and their efficient interaction. But at present the criminal justice system doesn't work successfully. Of the several million serious crimes reported every year to police, ranging from murder to car theft, only one in nine results in a conviction. The rate of solution varies with different crimes. Murder is usually reported, and 86 per cent of all reported murders lead to arrests. Among those arrested, however, only 64 per cent are prose­cuted and not more than 43 per cent of the cases prosecuted result in convictions. Of persons prosecuted for murder 19 per cent are convicted of a lesser crime and 38 per cent are acquitted or dismissed. In contrast, only 19 per cent of all the burglaries reported to police lead to an arrest. Four out of five arrested are prosecuted and 56 per cent are found guilty. So, for every twelve burglaries reported there is one conviction. Robbery — taking property from a person by force or threat of force — is a crime of violence, dangerous to life and increasing rapidly. But chances of a robber being convicted are small. Only 27 per cent of all robberies lead to an arrest. Of those arrested, 63 per cent are prose­cuted, of whom one-half are convicted. Less than two-thirds of the cases in which individuals are charged with murder and robbery are prosecutable. Often the reasons are: insufficient evidence, mistaken identity, unprofessional work of law enforcement agencies, etc. Long delays in trials may lead to dismissals because witnesses die or disap­pear, evidence is stale or lost. When we consider the performance of correctional agencies, the failure of the criminal justice system becomes quite evident. While there may be only one conviction for every fifty or more serious crimes, only one in four convicted will go to prison, and most who are imprisoned will commit crimes after their release. Thus from among the very small portion of all the people who commit seri­ous crimes and are finally imprisoned, the system fails to rehabilitate the majority.

 

Exercise 10: Find English equivalents in the text:

С применением силы или под угрозой силы; преступления, регистрируемые ежегодно полицией; коэффициент раскрываемости; длительные задержки в судебном разбирательстве; быть обвиненным в убийстве или грабеже; приводить к осуждению; предупреждение и борьба с преступлениями.

 

Text 6: Read the text and do a written translation: