Прокомментируйте следующие утверждения.

1 Most crimes are drug-related.

2 Schools should have programmes telling young people about the danger of taking drugs.

3 Most crimes are against property, not people.

4 Low level of education can lead to crime.

Ответьте на вопросы.

1 Do you think that the problem of criminality is urgent in our country?

2 What can be a cause of crime?

a) family surroundings, especially in early years.

b) the income level of the family.

c) the moral atmosphere of the time: unemployment, commodity shortages, the impact of the media.

d) the effectiveness of the police.

3 What kinds of crimes do you know?

Прочитайте текст и ответьте на вопросы.

1 Every violation of law is a crime, isn’t it?

2 Do different societies define crimes in the same way?

 

Crime is a breach of rules or laws for which some governing authority can ultimately prescribe a punishment. Individual human societies may define crimes differently. Modern societies generally regard crimes as offences against the public or the state. The word ‘crime’ is generally associated with wrongdoing but not every type of wrongdoing is a crime. Telling lies is immoral wrong but if telling lies is put into practice resulting in physical harm to another, then such action becomes both criminal and immoral.

There are some acts which are considered to be crimes in one country but not in another. For example, it is a crime to have more than one wife at the same time in France, but not in Indonesia.

There are quite a lot of agreements among states as to which acts are criminal. But such acts as stealing, physical attack or damaging somebody’s property will be unlawful in all countries and the way of dealing with people suspected of crime may be different. Sometimes government “creates” new crimes by identifying a form of behavior and passing a new law to deal with it. Different societies or governments often review their ideas of what should and shouldn’t be a crime. For example, race or sex discrimination hasn’t been considered a crime for a long time. In recent years the Internet has grown explosively and there appeared the new crimes such as unauthorized access or “hacking”, copyright infringements, child pornography, etc. Cybercrimes may intentionally harm the reputation of the victim, they may threaten a nation’s security or financial health.

Most crimes are not reported, not recorded, not followed through, or not able to be proved. When informal relationships and sanctions are insufficient to establish and maintain a desired social order, a state may impose more strict systems of social control.

 

CRIMINAL PROCEDURE

1 reasonable grounds – достаточные основания

2 lodge - подавать

3 preponderance of evidence – наличие более веских доказательств

4 to plead innocent – заявить о своей невиновности

5 to take an oath – принять присягу

6 to overturn a court decision – отменить решение суда

7 plea bargain – сделка о признании вины (plea-просьба, прошение, обращение, иск)

8 acquit – оправдать

1 Прочитайте и переведите текст. Ответьте на вопросы.

1 How many stages does a criminal case pass?

2 Why is the arrest warrant necessary?

3 What do criminal charges depend on?

4 Can a case be resolved without a trial?

5 What is the purpose of appeals?

 

PRETRIAL STAGE. A criminal case passes through several phases before trial. At the first stage the crime is reported and investigated. Then, if there is “probable cause”, i.e. reasonable grounds (something more than mere suspicion to believe that a particular person committed the crime)the person can be arrested. An arrest warrant is necessary unless the pressure of time requires immediate action (e.g. before the suspect flees).

Finally, criminal charges must be lodged against the defendant. Depending on the state, the charges are called either an indictment (by a grand jury) or information (by a magistrate or police officer). They must be based on probable cause, preponderance of evidence, or prosecutor’s evidence that supports a belief in the defendant’s guilt. In the USA most cases are resolved without a trial. Attorneys for the defence and prosecution usually reach a plea bargain. The judge must decide whether the guilty plea was freely given and whether there was some factual basis for the plea, but judicial disapproval of an agreed upon plea is rare.

BURDEN OF PROOF. At the trial there is crucial difference between criminal and civil cases in the level of proof required. A civil plaintiff merely needs a preponderance of the evidence; the judge only needs to find that the evidence favours the plaintiff over the defendant. A successful criminal prosecution requires proof of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

The prosecuting counsel opens the case with a short description of the events of the crime and calls his witnesses. After taking an oath by the witness the prosecuting counsel begins his examination by asking the witness his/her name, profession, place of domicile. In English law, witnesses are not allowed to make lengthy statements to the court. It is the duty of the attorneys for both parties to examine and cross-examine witnesses.

THE ORDER OF PROCEEDINGS. The session is opened by the court called to order by the Clerk of the Court. The judge enters. The clerk says: “All rise”. Everyone stands up and waits for the judge to take his seat. The accused is brought into the dock and the clerk asks for his or her name. The accused answers with the appropriate plea.

In English law a person is innocent until proven guilty. This means that in a trial the burden of proof is on the prosecution and if the prosecution cannot establish a reasonable cause for conviction the court must acquit the accused.

Both the defence and prosecution give their closing arguments, the prosecution going first. The judge sums up the evidence and instructs the jury on their duties. He reminds the jury that if there is any doubt at all in their minds they must acquit the defendant. The jury retires to the jury room to consider the verdict. The verdict “not guilty” does not necessarily mean that the judge or jury believe the defendant to be innocent. It is simply a finding that there was insufficient evidence to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

EVIDENCE. Criminal trial courts have numerous, complex rules about what evidence is admissible, and how it may be introduced. The rules are supposed to exclude irrelevant, unreliable, or unfairly prejudicial matters, especially in jury cases (the system presupposes that a judge is less likely to be swayed by improper evidence). The jury’s verdict is to be based solely on the evidence properly brought out at the trial. Otherwise proper, highly relevant evidence may be excluded because it was obtained in violation of a defendant’s constitutional rights. Criminal appeals are often decided on such so-called technical issues.

APPEALS. The appeal is a petition for review of a case that has been decided by a court of law. The petition made to a higher court for the purpose of overturning the lower court’s decision. The specific procedures for appealing can vary greatly depending on the type of case and jurisdiction where the case was prosecuted. The appeal system is mostly for the benefit of the defendant, but it is possible for the prosecution to appeal for a retrial.

Appellate courts cannot overturn a verdict simply because they disagree with it – e.g., with how the jury weighed the evidence and decided to believe one witness more than another witness. Appeals tend to focus on problems in the trial, judge’s legal ruling, the instructions to the jury, and the trial procedures, not simply in the judge’s factual interpretations.

2 Соотнесите английские слова и словосочетания с их определениями на русском языке. Обратите внимание на их перевод.

 

1) guilty plea                                    a) заявление о признании вины

2) probable cause                             b) сделка о признании вины

3) preponderance of evidence          c) разумное, обоснованное сомнение

4) burden of proof                            d) обвинительный акт

5) plea bargain                                  e) перевес доказательств

6) reasonable doubt                          f) заявление об обвинении по делу

7) information                                  g) бремя доказывания

8) indictment                                    h) вероятная причина, правдоподобное

                                                             основание

 

3 Выберите правильный вариант ответа в соответствии с содержанием текста.

1 At the first stage of a criminal case before trial …

a) the police collect evidence.

b) the crime is reported and investigated.

c) the suspected person must be interviewed by the police.

2 A person may be arrested if there …

a) is a suspicion of the police officer.

b) is testimony of witnesses.

c) are reasonable grounds.

3 At the final stage …

a) the suspected person must be arrested by the police.

b) criminal charges must be brought against somebody.

c) the suspected person must be taken into custody.

4 A successful criminal prosecution requires …

a) a preponderance of evidence.

b) proof of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

c) that evidence favours the prosecution over the defendant.

5 There is a special order of proceedings and the session starts with …

a) the prosecutor’s statement.

b) the defence opening speech.

c) the appropriate plea of the accused.

6 The verdict “not guilty” means that ….

a) the defendant is acquitted.

b) there was insufficient evidence to prove the guilt beyond reasonable doubt.

c) the jury considers the defendant to be innocent.

7 Appellate courts exist to …

a) find the defendant guilty.

b) impose a more severe punishment.

c) correct errors in the application of the law.