Topic: The Legal System in the United States

 

The legal system in the United States is similar in many ways to the English system. One of the main differences is the existence of the United States Constitution which is interpreted by the highest court, the Supreme Court. The nine Supreme Court judges are appointed by the President and approved by the Senate. They can only be removed from office by impeachment.

Federal judges are appointed for life by the President. They deal with federal law, which applies to the сountry as a whole, and with important cases involving citizens from different states. State judges hear cases involving the law of a particular state. They hold office for ten years and are usually elected or confirm in office by election.

The number of people who make up a jury varies from state to state, but efforts are made to ensure that they represent a fair cross-section of society. Both the defense and the prosecution are allowed to reject a certain number of jury candidates. The defendant in criminal case has the right to be tried by a jury, and many civil cases are heard by a jury. The task of the jury is to decide whether the defendant is innocent or guilty.

The attorneys represent clients in court. They have been trained at law schools and are licensed to practice only in certain states. If they wish to practice in a different state they may have to take another exam. The prosecution attorney is appointed by the District Attorney to prosecute the defendant. The defense attorney will be provided by the Public Defender’s Office if the defendant cannot afford to engage his own lawyer. The prosecution may agree to charge the defendant with a less serious offence if he or she agrees to plead guilty. This is known as plea bargaining.

 

 

Занятие 21, 22, 23

Topic: Juvenile Delinquency

Topical Vocabulary

armed-robbery, bullying, correctional institution, custody, drug-addict, dysfunctional family, innocent, to mug/mugging, murder, misuse, offence, to steal, punishment, victim.

 

2. Improve your writing (вставьте пропущенные буквы):

 1. p_n_s_m_nt

 2. s_ _a_

 3. ar_ _d r_b_ _ry

 4. bu_ lyi_g

 5. in_o_e_t

 6. m_g_i_g

 

3. Прочитайте текст и подберите подходящий заголовок:

a) victims of bullying

b) youngsters

c) juvenile delinquency

d) correctional institution

e) suicide terrorists

 

Crime is getting younger all over the world. One hears about drug-addicts who have barely reached school age; there are street gangs which include young children, usually with an adult leader. Teenagers today commit all the serious crimes like armed-robbery with violence, murder, sexual offences. The reasons are usually neglect in the family or a dysfunctional family, history of violent behaviour among the relatives, drug and alcohol misuse, bad neighborhoods and peer pressure. Bullying at school and in the street is quite common, and it is hard to take measures against it unless the victim appeals to responsible adults like parents and teachers for help. Very often, when a group of youngsters is caught after a mugging, it becomes clear that ignorance is another reason for crimes: children do not know that they are liable for prosecution even if they are underage. Teens may steal a car, joyride in it and abandon it later, and claim that they did it “just for fun”. They are surprised when they learn that their parents have to pay for the damage done, or that they have to work a set number of days for the community as punishment.

Sometimes one such occasion is enough to teach a child not to become an offender. However, when a youngster is caught after committing the same or a different offence again and again, stricter measures are taken. Young people may even be sent to a correctional institution, and then go to prison when they become of age. Today, we hear about suicide terrorists who are very young, and who become “live bombs”, killing themselves and a lot of innocent strangers for religious causes. It is clear that they are not the masterminds of such crimes, and it is the adult terrorists sending them to senseless death who have to be stopped.

The most recent law in the UK states that a young criminal over the age of 18 may be tried by the court of law. A juvenile delinquent is a child or a young person under the age of 18 who shows no concern for other people or behaves in a criminal way. Young people who misbehave seriously or are criminals are not put into prison but may be sent to a special school to be educated or trained, to try to prevent them from committing a crime again. If it is a first offence and no great harm was done, the court decides who gets custody of a child and what measures should be taken to help them.

 

 

4. Find 8 reasons why teenagers commit crimes:

1_____________________ 5_______________________

2_____________________ 6_______________________

3_____________________ 7_______________________

4_____________________ 8_______________________