Ownership of a Corporation: Shareholders

 

1. A person achieves ownership in a corporation by acquiring title to one or more shares of stock. Owners are known as shareholders or stockholders. A person may obtain shares of stock by subscription either before or after organization of the corporation, or shares may be obtained in other ways, such as by gift or purchase from another shareholder.

2. Stock certificates. A stock certificate is a certificate issued by a corporation that evidences ownership of a specified number of shares in the corporation. Shareholders have the right to demand that the corporation record their names and addresses in the corporate stock record books – stock ledgers.

3. The ownership right exists independently of the certificate itself. A stock certificate may be lost or destroyed, but ownership is not destroyed with it. A new certificate can be issued to replace one that has been lost or destroyed. Notice of shareholder meetings, dividends, and operational and financial reports are all distributed according to the recorded ownership listed in the corporation’s books, not on the basis of possession of the certificate.

4. Preemptive rights. A preemptive right is a preference given to a shareholder over all other purchasers to subscribe to or purchase a prorated share of a new issue of stock. This allows the shareholder to maintain his or her portion of control, voting power, or financial interest in the corporation.

5. Dividends. A dividend is a distribution of corporate profits or income ordered by the directors and paid to the shareholders in proportion to their respective shares in the corporation. Dividends can be paid in cash, property, stock of the corporation that is paying the dividends, or stock of other corporations.

6. Shareholders’ powers. The acquisition of a share of stock makes a person an owner and shareholder in a corporation. Shareholders thus own the corporation. As a general rule, shareholders have no responsibility for the daily management of the corporation. They are, however, ultimately responsible for choosing the board of directors, which does have that control (through its appointment of officers).

7. Election and removal of directors are accomplished by a vote of the shareholders. The first board of directors is either named in the articles of incorporation or chosen by the incorporators to serve until the first shareholders’ meeting. From that time on, selection and retention of directors are exclusively shareholder functions.

8. Shareholders have the inherent power to remove a director from office for cause by a majority vote. Some state statutes even permit removal of directors without cause by the vote of a majority of the holders of outstanding shares entitled to vote.

9. Shareholders must approve fundamental changes affecting the corporation before the changes can be effected. Shareholders must approve amendments to the articles of incorporation and bylaws, they must approve a merger or the dissolution of the corporation, and they must approve the sale of all or substantially all of the corporation’s assets. Some of these actions are subject to prior board approval.

10. Shareholders’ meeting. Shareholders’ meetings must occur at least annually. Additionally, special meetings can be called to take care of urgent matters. Because it is not practical for owners of only a few shares of stock of publicly traded corporations to attend shareholders’ meetings, such stockholders normally give third parties a written authorization to vote their shares at the meeting. This authorization is called a proxy.

11. Corporations send proxy forms to shareholders; the law does not require any special form for a proxy. A proxy may be good in some states for only a limited period of time. As a rule, a stockholder may revoke a proxy at any time. If the stockholder attends the stockholders’ meeting in person, this acts as a revocation of the proxy.

12. Shareholder voting. Shareholders exercise ownership control through the power of their votes. Each shareholder is entitled to one vote per share. The articles of incorporation can exclude or limit voting rights, particularly to certain classes of shares.

13. Corporate business matters are presented in the form of resolutions, which shareholders vote to approve or disapprove. For shareholders to act, a quorum (a minimum number of shareholders, in terms of the number of shares held) must be present at a meeting. Generally, a quorum is more than 50 percent.

14. Once a quorum is present, a majority vote of the shares represented at the meeting is usually required to pass resolutions. At times, a greater-than-majority vote will be required either by statute or by corporate charter.

15. Inspection rights. The shareholder’s right of inspection is limited to the inspection and copying of corporate books and records for a proper purpose, provided the request is made in advance. Either the shareholder can inspect in person, or an attorney, agent, accountant, or other type of assistant can do so. In some states, the corporation must maintain an alphabetical voting list of shareholders with addresses and number of shares owned; this list must be kept open at the annual meeting for inspection by any shareholder of record.

16. Transfer of shares. Corporate stock represents an ownership right in intangible personal property. The law generally recognizes the right of an owner to transfer property to another person unless there are valid restrictions on its transferability.

17. Sometimes corporations or their shareholders restrict transferability by reserving the option to purchase any shares offered for resale by a shareholder. This right of first refusal remains with the corporation or the shareholders for only a specified time or a reasonable time.

18. When shares are transferred, a new entry is made in the corporate books to indicate the new owner. Until the corporation is notified and the entry is complete, the right to vote, the right to receive notice of shareholders’ meetings, the right to receive dividends, and so forth are all held by the current record owner.

19. Liability of shareholders. One of the distinguishing features of the corporate organization is that shareholders are not personally liable for the debts of the corporation. If the corporation fails, shareholders can lose their investments, but that is generally the limit of their liability. In certain instances of fraud, undercapitalization, or careless observance of corporate formalities, a court will “pierce the corporate veil” and hold the shareholders individually liable. These situations are the exception, not the rule, however.

 

основные источники информации: 1) Ashcroft J., Ashcroft J. Law for Business. 17-th ed. Mason: South-Western, Cengage Learning, 2011; 2) Miller R.L., Cross F.B., Jentz G.A. Essentials of the Legal Environment. 3-d ed. Mason: South-Western, Cengage Learning, 2011.

 

6.3.1. Слова из текста:

shares of stock – акции, пай акционерного капитала

stock ledger – книга записи акций (учетный реестр, в котором отражается информация о текущих владельцах акций, о количестве акций у каждого владельца, о выпуске новых и погашении старых акций и т. п.)

preemptive right – преимущественное право акционеров на вновь выпускаемые акции

prorated – пропорциональный, соответствующий

daily management – повседневное руководство, оперативное управление

ultimately – в конечном итоге

retention – оставление на дополнительный срок службы, продление срока службы

inherent power – неотъемлемое право

without cause – без (уважительных) причин, беспричинно, без оснований, без повода

outstanding shares – акции, находящиеся на руках акционеров

urgent matter – неотложное дело, срочный вопрос

proxy – 1) доверенность: письменно удостоверенное право голосовать от имени акционера на общем собрании акционеров; 2) лицо, которому доверено голосовать от имени акционера на общем собрании компании (юридическая фирма, адвокат, финансовое учреждение); 3) лицо, уполномоченное выступать или действовать от имени другого (по доверенности)

revoke – аннулировать, отзывать, отменять полномочия

in person – лично, собственной персоной

quorum – кворум (число участников собрания, достаточное для признания законности принимаемых собранием решений)

right of inspection – право осмотра / контроля

shareholder of record – фактический акционер; владелец именной акции, зарегистрированный в книгах компании

right of first refusal – право преимущественной покупки, право первого выбора

entry – отметка в документе

undercapitalization – недостаток капитала; нехватка оборотных средств (ситуация, при которой у компании не хватает капитала для продолжения нормальной деятельности)

careless observance – небрежное исполнение, недобросовестное исполнение, неточное соблюдение

Ключевые слова.

1) Просмотрите ключевые слова по теме «Forms of Business».

2) Употребите 7 из них в самостоятельно составленных предложениях, используя материал тематического блока.

3) Будьте готовы прочитать свои предложения студентам группы так, чтобы они смогли на слух перевести их на русский язык.

board of directors business entity closely held corporation corporation domestic corporation fiscal administration foreign corporation franchise joint stock company legal entity limited liability company management nonprofit corporation ownership interest

partnership private corporation processing plant profit corporation proxy public corporation publicly held corporation S corporation shareholder shares of stock sole proprietorship stock certificate stock ledger to raise funds

6.5. Передайте основное содержание текстов на тему «Forms of Business», используя типовые фразы из Приложения 2 и опираясь на следующие пункты плана:

– basic forms of business organization;

– advantages and disadvantages of sole proprietorships;

– advantages and disadvantages of franchising;

– advantages and disadvantages of partnerships;

– corporations.

 

 

 

Unit 7. Criminal Law. – Уголовное право

7.1. Выполните следующие задания:

1) Прочитайте и переведите текст.

2) Составьте 5 ‘специальных вопросов’ к тексту, используя информацию из Приложения 3 с комментариями о структуре вопросительного предложения в английском языке. Будьте готовы в ходе занятия задать другим студентам свои вопросы по содержанию прочитанного текста.

Criminal Liability

1. The most useful classification of legal liability for practical purposes is into civil and criminal. The basic difference is that an infringement of criminal law renders you liable to prosecution and, if you are convicted, you are liable to be punished; an infraction of the civil law means that the injured party may sue you and, if you are found liable, you are likely to have to pay a monetary compensation called damages or have some other remedy awarded against you.

2. One important reason for being able to distinguish between criminal and civil liability is that you can always compromise a claim in relation to the civil law, that is, you can bargain with the claimant (the person or company which is bringing the action against you) with a view to avoiding court action.

3. Criminal law deals with criminal liability by assigning crimes and fixing punishments for them. Also included in criminal law are rules and procedures for preventing and investigating crimes and prosecuting criminals, as well as the regulations governing the constitution of courts, the conduct of trials, the organization of police forces, and the administration of penal institutions.

4. As a matter of fact criminal law is based on a number of universal principles. Here are some of them:

– there is a presumption that the accused is innocent and the prosecution must prove his guilt beyond reasonable doubt;

– responsibility can exist only in the presence of guilt;

– a person may not be considered guilty unless all elements of an alleged crime (corpus delicti) have been established in his acts;

– criminal punishment shall be applied only by a sentence of the court.

5. Under principles of Anglo-American criminal law, culpabilityrests upon particular requirements that are observed by legislatures and by courts when defining substantive criminal conduct. As a result, a prosecutor is usually required to prove the following elements of a criminal offence (aka ‘ corpus delicti ’):

– “guilty act” (actus reus): a physical act or unlawful omission by the defendant;

– “guilty mind” (mens rea): the state of mind, or intent, of the defendant at the time of the act;

– concurrence of actus reus and mens rea;

– causation: the defendant’s act must be a proximate cause of the resulting harm;

– harmful result: a harmful result caused both factually and proximately by a defendant’s act.

6. Actus reus. Every criminal statute prohibits certain behavior. Most crimes require an act of commission; that is, a person must do something in order to be accused of a crime. One requirement of criminal act is that the defendant perform it voluntarily. In other words, the defendant must control the act.

7. In some instances, an act of omission can be a crime, but only when a person has a legal duty to perform the omitted act. Failure or omission to act is only criminal in three situations: (i) when there is a statute that creates a legal duty to act, (ii) when there is a contract that creates a legal duty to act, or (iii) when there is a special relationship between the parties that creates a legal duty to act. Failure to file a tax return is an example of an omission that is a crime.

8. Concerning actus reus the crimes can be divided into two categories:

– conduct crimes where the actus reus is the prohibited conduct itself; for example, the actus reus of the offence of dangerous driving is simply "driving a vehicle dangerously on a road or other public place"; no harm or consequence of that dangerous driving need be established;

– result crimes where the actus reus of the offence requires proof that the conduct caused a prohibited result or consequence; for example, the actus reus of the offence of criminal damage is that property belonging to another must be destroyed or damaged.

9. Mens rea. In order to distinguish between inadvertent acts and acts performed with a “guilty mind” under common law rules, intent is usually required. There are four different types of mens rea. Listed in order of culpability they are: intentionally or purposely, knowingly or consciously, recklessly or disregardfully, and negligently or carelessly.

10. An exception to the requirement of a criminal intent element is strict liability. Strict liability offences have no intent element. The rationale for strict liability crimes is the protection of the public’s health, safety, and welfare. Thus strict liability offences are often vehicle code or tax code violations, mandating a less severe punishment. With a strict liability crime, the prosecution has to prove only the criminal act and possibly causation and harm or attendant circumstances, depending on the elements of the offence.

11. Concurrence or temporal coincidence. Actus reus and mens rea must occur in conjunction with one another in order for criminal responsibility to arise. Consequently, the actus reus must be performed by the accused at the same time as the accused possesses the mens rea.

12. Causation and harm can also be the elements of a criminal offence if the offence requires the existence of a causal relationship between the offender’s conduct and the particular harmful consequences. When the definition of an actus reus requires the occurrence of certain consequences, the prosecution must prove that it was the defendant's conduct which caused those consequences to occur.

13. Participation in the crime. A crime may have many participants. The law recognizes four types of participants to a felony:

(i) a principal or actor is one who, with the required mental state, engages in the act or omission that causes the criminal result;

(ii) an accomplice is one who intentionally helps another to commit a crime; they are subdivided into:

a) an accessory before the fact:

– an aider and abettor is one who aids, counsels, helps, procures, commands, or encourages another in the commission of the crime;

– a conspirator is liable for all crimes committed during and in furtherance of the conspiracy;

b) an accessory after the fact is one whose involvement does not begin until after the crime has been completed.

14. Inchoate offences. There are instances where a crime has not been completed but nevertheless an offence of a different kind is committed. These are known as inchoate offences or incomplete crimes. There are three main inchoate offences – incitement, conspiracy, and attempt.

15. Incitement or solicitation to commit a crime is the crime of asking another person to commit a crime. Solicitation consists of inciting, counseling, advising, inducing, urging, or commanding another to commit a felony with the specific intent that the person solicited would commit the crime. Even if the person who is solicited does not commit the crime, the person soliciting may be charged with incitement.

16. Conspiracy consists of any agreement between two or more people to commit a criminal offence. The four elements of conspiracy are:

– an agreement between two or more persons;

– an intent to enter into an agreement;

– an intent to achieve the object of the agreement that is unlawful or one that is lawful but is to be accomplished by unlawful means;

– an overt act in furtherance of the conspiracy by at least one party.

17. Attempt to commit a crime involves trying to commit the crime but failing to complete the intended actions. The elements of attempt vary, although generally, there must be an intent to commit the crime, an overt act beyond mere preparation, and an apparent ability to complete the crime. The punishment for attempt depends on the seriousness of the attempted crime. It is important to keep in mind that a person cannot be charged with an inchoate offence and the actual crime at the same time.

18. The following general defences may excuse the accused from criminal responsibility:

– lack of age (if an offender is under 14 he is incapable of committing a crime);

– self-defence (when people have good reason to believe they are in danger of serious injury or death, they can use force to protect themselves);

– defence of family members (courts will not punish someone for using force to rescue a family member from attack if there was good reason to believe the victim was in danger of severe bodily injury or death);

– insanity (but everyone is presumed sane until the contrary is proved);

– duress by threats or duress of circumstances;

– automatism (it may arise as the result of a reflex action or concussion);

– entrapment (if a law enforcement officer induces a law-abiding citizen to commit a crime, which would not have been committed without the involvement of the officer).

 

основные источники информации: 1) Owens K. Law for Non-Law Students. 3-rd ed. London: Cavendish Publishing Ltd, 2001; 1) http://www.saylor.org/books/; 3) http://www.cps.gov.uk/

 

7.1.1. Слова из текста:

legal liability – ответственность перед законом, ответственность, признаваемая судом

civil – гражданский (о деле, ответственности)

criminal – криминальный, уголовный

infringement – нарушение закона/правила/контракта

render – превращать, приводить в какое-либо состояние

liable – подлежащий (чему-л.), ответственный, несущий ответственность

prosecution – уголовное преследование

convicted – признан по суду виновным

punished – наказанный, подверженный наказанию

infraction – нарушение, несоблюдение (права, закона, договора, обязанности)

injured party – потерпевшая сторона

sue – преследовать судом; подавать в суд, возбуждать иск, предъявлять иск

damages – возмещение убытков, компенсация за убытки

remedy – средство судебной защиты, средство защиты права

compromise a claim – урегулировать спор мировой сделкой, заключать мировую сделку до суда

bargain – договариваться; вести переговоры

claimant – истец; сторона, заявляющая требование

bring action – возбудить иск, предъявить иск

crime – преступление; злодеяние, нарушение, правонарушение

fix – устанавливать, фиксировать; закреплять

prevent – предотвращать, предупреждать

investigate – расследовать; изучать (вопрос); рассматривать (дело)

constitution of courts – устройство судов, структура судебной системы

police force – полицейские силы, полиция; полицейское подразделение

administration – руководство, управление

penal institution – исправительное учреждение; пенитенциарное, карательное учреждение; пенитенциарий; тюрьма

innocent – невиновный

beyond reasonable doubt – при отсутствии разумных оснований для сомнения

responsibility – ответственность; способность отвечать за содеянное

guilt – вина; виновность

corpus delicti [‘kо:pəs dı’lıktaı] – состав преступления

punishment – кара, наказание

culpability – виновность

rest upon – основываться на, опираться на

substantive – материально-правовой, касающийся существа

actus reus [‘æktəs ‘reıəs] – лат. – виновное действие, правонарушение (т.е. та фаза действия, за совершение которой законом предусмотрено наказание; физическая, объективная сторона преступления), объективная сторона преступления, преступное деяние (элемент, характеризующий объективную сторону преступления в общем праве)

mens rea [‘menz ‘reıə] – вина, виновная воля, преступное намерение, преступный умысел, внутренняя сторона преступления, субъективная сторона преступления

concurrence – совпадение; согласованность, согласие; стечение (обстоятельств); пересечение в одной точке (времени и пространства)

causation [kо:'zeıʃən] – причинная зависимость, причинная обусловленность

proximately – непосредственно

act of commission – действие (в отличие от бездействия, упущения)

voluntarily – произвольно, по своей воле, добровольно

act of omission – бездействие, воздержание от действия, упущение

file a tax return – подать налоговую декларацию

conduct crime – вид преступления, когда противоправным считается само деяние (бездействие) правонарушителя (вне зависимости от наличия или отсутствия негативных последствий)

result crime – оконченное преступление (негативный результат или последствия противоправного деяния являются обязательным элементом состава данного преступления)

vehicle – автомобиль, автотранспортное средство

criminal damage – преступное причинение ущерба

inadvertent act [,ınəd'vɜ:(r)t(ə)nt] – неумышленный поступок

purposely – преднамеренно, специально

knowingly – сознательно, с осознанием, с пониманием

recklessly – по грубой неосторожности

negligently – по неосмотрительности, по неосмотрительности

strict liability – объективная ответственность (независимо от наличия вины), прямая ответственность (ответственность без вины), безусловная ответственность; строгая ответственность; абсолютная ответственность

vehicle code – законодательство о дорожном движении

mandate ['mændeıt] – санкционировать

attendant circumstances – сопутствующие обстоятельства

in conjunction with – совместно с, в сочетании с

causal relationship – причинная связь

principal – главный виновник, исполнитель

accomplice – сообщник

accessory before the fact [æk'sesərı] – прямой соучастник, соучастник по выполнению преступления, соучастник до события преступления

aider – пособник

abettor – подстрекатель, соумышленник

procure – обеспечивать, снабжать

conspirator [kən'spırətər] – участник преступного сговора

in furtherance of – в осуществление (намерения)

accessory after the fact – косвенный соучастник, укрыватель (соучастник преступления); лицо, содействующее сокрытию преступника; соучастник после выполнения преступления

inchoate offence ['ınkəʋeıt] – незавершённое преступление, неоконченный состав преступления

incitement – подстрекательство

conspiracy – преступный сговор, сговор о совершении преступления

attempt – покушение (на преступление)

inciting – подстрекание

inducing – убеждение

urging – побуждение

overt act [əʋ'vɜ:rt] – прямое действие, явное действие

actual crime – фактически совершенное преступление

defence – 1) обстоятельство, освобождающее от ответственности; 2) защита (на суде); аргументация ответчика, подсудимого; возражение по иску, обвинению; возражение ответчика, подсудимого

lack of age – несовершеннолетие (моложе установленного законом возраста, лишь по достижении которого наступает полная гражданская дееспособность)

commit a crime – совершить преступление

self-defence – самозащита, самооборона

injury – увечье; травма; вред, ущерб

victim – потерпевший

sane – находящийся в здравом рассудке; вменяемый

insanity – невменяемость, душевное расстройство

duress by threats – противозаконное принуждение под угрозой насилия, принуждение путём запугивания

duress of circumstances – принуждение под влиянием обстоятельств

concussion – контузия, сотрясение

entrapment – провоцирование на уголовно наказуемое действие, провокация преступления с целью его изобличения

7.2. Выполните следующие задания:

1) Прочитайте и переведите текст.

2) Составьте 5 ‘специальных вопросов’ к тексту, используя информацию из Приложения 3 с комментариями о структуре вопросительного предложения в английском языке. Будьте готовы в ходе занятия задать другим студентам свои вопросы по содержанию прочитанного текста.

Types of Crimes

 

1. The number of acts that are defined as criminal is nearly endless. Traditionally, though, crimes have been grouped into five broad categories, or types: violent crime (crimes against persons), property crime, public order crime, white-collar crime, and organized crime. Within each of these categories, crimes may also be separated into more than one classification.

2. Violent crime. Crimes against persons, because they cause others to suffer harm or death, are referred to as violent crimes; e.g. murder, rape, robbery, abduction, battery, aggravated assault, etc. Each of these violent crimes is further classified by degree, depending on the circumstances surrounding the criminal act. These circumstances include the intent of the person committing the crime, whether a weapon was used, and (in cases other than murder) the level of pain and suffering experienced by the victim.

3. Property crime. The most common type of criminal activity is property crime in which the goal of the offender is to obtain some form of economic gain or to damage property; e.g. arson, burglary, larceny, forgery, obtaining goods by false pretences, receiving stolen goods. etc. Robbery is also a form of property crime, as well as a violent crime, because the offender seeks to gain the property of another.

4. Public order crime. Historically, societies have always outlawed activities that are considered to be contrary to public values and morals; e.g. riot, violent disorder, affray, disorderly conduct, public drunkenness, prostitution, pornography, gambling, and illegal drug use. Some of them are sometimes referred to as victimless crimes because they normally harm only the offender. From a broader perspective, however, they are deemed detrimental to society as a whole because they may create an environment that gives rise to property and violent crimes.

5. White-collar crime. Crimes that typically occur only in the business context are popularly referred to as white-collar crimes. The term ‘white-collar crime’ is commonly used to mean an illegal act or series of acts committed by an individual or business entity using some nonviolent means. Usually, this kind of crime is committed in the course of a legitimate occupation; e.g. embezzlement, bribery, bankruptcy fraud, insider trading, theft of trade secrets, mail and wire fraud, etc.

6. Organized crime. Organized crime is a general term used to describe any sort of group of people who strategically work together to commit fraud, extortion, or other illegal activity. Modern organized criminal enterprises make money by specializing in a variety of crimes, including protection rackets, gambling, smuggling, bootlegging, prostitution, financial scams, tax evasion, loan-sharking, public corruption, political corruption, counterfeiting, blackmail, criminal infringement of copyrights, health care fraud, credit-card scams and the manufacture and sale of illicit narcotics.

7. The main goal of this sort of group is moneymaking, though holding power and having the ability to control both people and circumstances is also usually an important aspect. Organized crime, in contrast to white-collar crime, operates illegitimately by, among other things, providing illegal goods and services.

8. Money laundering allows organized criminals to transform illegally obtained gain into seemingly legitimate funds. One of the most common ways to perform money laundering may be creating a shell company or business. Instead of creating a shell company, an alternative for money laundering may be to invest in a legitimate business, such as a casino or bar. The launderer can combine his illicit funds with the real income of the business or use the company's bank accounts to conceal the funds.

9. Money laundering usually consists of three steps: placement, layering, and integration. Placement is the depositing of funds in financial institutions or the conversion of cash into negotiable instruments. Placement is the most difficult step. The easiest way to begin laundering large amounts of cash is to deposit them into a financial institution. Layering involves the wire transfer of funds through a series of accounts in an attempt to hide the funds' true origins. Integration involves the movement of layered funds, which are no longer traceable to their criminal origin, into the financial world, where they are mixed with funds of legitimate origin.

10. Cyber crimes are mostly not “new” crimes. Rather, they are existing crimes in which the Internet is the instrument of wrongdoing. They are committed with computers and occur in cyberspace. The examples of these crimes are:

– cyber theft: a thief with internet access could, in theory, steal data stored in a networked computer anywhere on the globe;

– financial crimes: computer networks provide opportunities for employees to commit crimes that involve serious economic losses, e.g. sabotage, fraud, embezzlement, and the theft of proprietary data, such as trade secrets or other intellectual property;

– identity theft: it occurs when the wrongdoer steals a form of identification – such as a name, date of birth, or Social Security number – and uses the information to access the victim’s financial resources;

– cyberstalking: the law made it a crime to harass or follow a person while making a “ credible threat ” that puts the person in reasonable fear for his safety or the safety of his immediate family;

– hacking: when wrongdoers use one computer to break into another without authorization with the purpose either to commit cyber theft or to cause random data errors on others’ computers or otherwise disrupt the target’s business.

11. Another commonly used classification of crimes is based on their degree of seriousness; this classification contains three basic categories: (1) felonies, (2) misdemeanors, and (3) infractions.

12. Felonies are the most serious offences that lead to longer-term confinement. The basic rule is that any crime from which a person can serve a year or more in jail is a felony.

13. Misdemeanors are less serious criminal offences for which the person usually receives a fine or a jail term of less than a year.

14. Finally, infractions are minor violations, such as jaywalking or violations of building codes, for which a person usually only has to pay a fine and not serve any jail time.

15. Whether a crime is a felony, a misdemeanor, or an infraction can determine in which court the case is tried and whether the defendant has a right to a jury trial. Some jurisdictions define different degrees of felony offences (first, second, and third degree murder, for example) and vary the punishment according to the degree. Some states also have different classes (degrees) of misdemeanors.

основные источники информации: 1) Owens K. Law for Non-Law Students. 3-rd ed. London: Cavendish Publishing Ltd, 2001; 2) http://www.saylor.org/books/; 3) http://www.cps.gov.uk/; 4) Miller R.L., Cross F.B., Jentz G.A. Essentials of the Legal Environment. 3-d ed. Mason: South-Western, Cengage Learning, 2011.

7.2.1. Слова из текста:

violent crime – преступление против личности, преступление с применением насилия

white-collar crime – "беловоротничковая преступность" (преступления, совершаемые т.н. "белыми воротничками" (офисными работниками, занимающимися умственным трудом: служащими, чиновниками, администраторами, менеджерами или инженерно-техническими работниками) и непосредственно связанные с их профессиональными знаниями и умениями)

organized crime – организованная преступность

abduction – похищение другого лица с помощью обмана, насильственное похищение человека (особенно женщины, ребёнка, подопечного, избирателя)

aggravated assault – словесное оскорбление и угроза физическим насилием при отягчающих обстоятельствах

larceny – похищение имущества

forgery – подделка (документа, подписи, денег, произведений искусств), фальсификация, подлог; фабрикация улик и свидетельств (в судебной практике)

false pretences – создание заведомо неправильного представления о факте с намерением обмануть, мошеннический обман

outlaw – объявлять вне закона

be contrary to – противоречить

riot – бунт; восстание, мятеж, беспорядки

violent disorder – нарушение общественного порядка с применением насилия

affray – драка в общественном месте

disorderly conduct – мелкое хулиганство

public drunkenness – пребывание в общественном месте в состоянии явного опьянения

gambling – азартная игра; игра на деньги

victimless crimes – преступление, не влекущее за собой потерпевших; преступление без установленного потерпевшего

detrimental – приносящий убыток; причиняющий ущерб; пагубный

legitimate occupation – законный/легальный вид деятельности

embezzlement – присвоение или растрата чужого имущества

insider trading – несанкционированные операции биржевых посредников с использованием конфиденциальной информации

mail fraud – мошенничество с использованием почты

wire fraud – мошенничество с использованием электронных средств коммуникации

extortion – вымогательство

protection rackets – вымогательство под предлогом защиты, крышевание (незаконное требование вознаграждения за предоставление услуг "безопасности": требование бандита вознаграждения за воздержание от нанесения ущерба этим бандитом и/или за защиту от других бандитов)

bootlegging – незаконная перевозка товаров и материалов с целью избежать уплаты налогов или запрет; торговля запрещёнными товарами; перевозка запрещенных товаров

financial scam – обман/надувательство/афера/ жульничество в финансовой сфере

loan-sharking – криминальноеростовщичество, гангстерское ростовщичество (осуществляемое преступными группами; ссуда предоставляется на короткий срок и под очень высокий процент; долги взыскиваются уголовными личностями под угрозой пыток, увечья или даже смерти)

public corruption – коррупция среди государственных служащих

political corruption – коррупция в политике или с политической целью

counterfeiting – фальшивомонетничество; контрафакция (незаконное использование фирменных обозначений, т. е. производство и реализация товаров с указанием на них фирменных обозначений, принадлежащих другим фирмам, как правило, широко известным и хорошо зарекомендовавшим себя на рынке)

shell company – компания-пустышка, подставная/фиктивная компания

placement – вложение капитала, размещение

layering – разделение (на более мелкие части)

negotiable instrument – оборотный кредитно-денежный документ

traceable – прослеживаемый

cyber crime – киберкриминал, кибермошенничество, киберпреступление, киберпреступность, компьютерная преступность, компьютерное мошенничество, компьютерное преступление, преступление с использованием компьютера, преступление с использованием компьютеров, электронное преступление

internet access – доступ в Интернет

proprietary data – собственные данные (фирмы или пользователя)

identity theft – кража идентификационной/личной информации (незаконное использование чужой личной информации, такой как номер кредитной карты, паспортные данные и т. д., обычно с целью извлечения финансовой выгоды)

cyberstalking – домогательство/причинение беспокойства/преследование с использованием Интернет

harass – надоедать, утомлять, изнурять, подвергать нападкам, травить

credible threat – реальная угроза

immediate family – ближайшие родственники

hacking – действия хакеров, компьютерный взлом; несанкционированная попытка доступа, проникновение в систему

random – беспорядочный, выборочный

target’s business – коммерческая деятельность намеченной жертвы/объекта нападения

felony – тяжкое уголовное преступление, фелония (категория тяжких преступлений; по степени опасности находящаяся между государственной изменой и мисдиминором)

misdemeanor – мисдиминор, судебно наказуемый проступок (категория мелких уголовных преступлений, граничащих с административными правонарушениями; наказанием за большую часть таких преступлений обычно является штраф или лишение свободы на срок до 1 года)

infraction – нарушение, несоблюдение закона, административное правонарушение

confinement – тюремное заключение

jaywalking – нарушение (пешеходом) правила уличного движения

7.3. Выполните следующие задания:

1) Прочитайте и переведите текст.

2) Составьте 5 ‘специальных вопросов’ к тексту, используя информацию из Приложения 3 с комментариями о структуре вопросительного предложения в английском языке. Будьте готовы в ходе занятия задать другим студентам свои вопросы по содержанию прочитанного текста.