Commonly asked questions about

THE FEDERAL JUDICIAL PROCESS

How is a civil case filed? Is there a charge?

A civil action is begun by the filing of a complaint. Parties beginning a civil action in a district court are required to pay a filing fee set by statute. A plaintiff who is unable to pay the fee may file a request to proceed in forma pauperis. If the request is granted by the court, the fees are waived. Filing fees and other service fees consti­tute only a small percentage of the federal judicia­ry’s budget. Most fees charged by the courts are deposited into the general treasury of the United States. Congress, however, has authorized the courts to retain certain fees, such as those charged for providing electronic access to court records.

How is a criminal case filed?

Individuals may not file criminal charges in federal courts. A criminal proceeding may only be initiated by the government, usually through the U.S. attorney’s office in coordination with a law enforcement agency. A magistrate judge or other judge may order the arrest of an accused person upon the filing of a complaint and accompanying affidavits sworn by the United States attorney or law enforcement agents that set forth sufficient facts to establish "probable cause" that a federal offense has been committed and that the accused has committed it. A felony case, however, may not proceed beyond the initial stages unless a federal grand jury indicts the defendant.

How does one find a lawyer?

Local bar associations usually offer lawyer referral services, often without charge. The clerk’s office in each district court is usually able to help find a referral service. But personnel in the clerk’s office and other federal court employees are prohibited from providing legal advice to individual litigants.

Defendants in criminal proceedings have a constitutional right to a lawyer, and they are entitled to have counsel appointed at government expense if they are financially unable to obtain adequate representation by private counsel. The Criminal Justice Act requires a court determination that a person is financially eligible for court appointed counsel.

Although parties normally have the right to be represented by a lawyer of their choice in civil cases, there is no general right to free legal assistance in civil proceedings. Some litigants obtain free or low-cost representation through local bar association referrals, lawyers acting in recognition of their professional responsibility to provide some representation pro bono publico, or through legal services organizations. Litigants in civil cases may also proceed pro se; that is, they may represent themselves without the assistance of a lawyer.

Are litigants who do not speak English entitled to a court-appointed interpreter?

A certified interpreter is appointed and paid for by the government for any criminal defendant who needs one, and for any defendant in a civil case in which the government is the plaintiff.

How are judges assigned to specific cases?

Judge assignment methods vary, but almost all courts use a blind random drawing under which each judge in a court receives roughly an equal caseload.

What is a U.S. Magistrate Judge?

Magistrate judges are judicial officers appointed by the district court to serve for eight-year terms. Their duties fall into four general categories:

(1) conducting most of the initial proceedings in criminal cases (including search and arrest warrants, detention hearings, probable cause hearings, and appointment of attorneys); (2) trial of most criminal misdemeanor cases; (3) conductinga wide variety of other proceedings referred to them by district judges (including deciding motions, reviewing petitions filed by prisoners, and conducting pretrial and settlement conferences); and (4) trial of civil cases, if the parties consent.

How does one check on the status of a case?

The clerk’s office responds without charge to most inquiries on the status of a case. A fee may be charged, however, to conduct certain searches and retrieve some types of information, and to make copies of court documents. Most federal courts have automated systems that allow for the search and retrieval of case-related information at the public counters in the courthouse, and electronically from other locations. In many bankruptcy and appellate courts, telephone information systems enable callers to obtain case information by touch-tone phone. Court dockets and opinions may also be available on the Internet. The federal judiciary’s Internet homepage, www.uscourts.gov, includes links to individual court websites, as well as a directory of court electronic public access services.

How quickly does a court reach a decision in a particular case?

All cases are handled as expeditiously as possible. The Speedy Trial Act of 1974 establishes special time requirements for the prosecution and disposition of criminal cases in district courts. As a result, courts must give the scheduling of criminal cases a higher priority than civil cases. The Act normally allows 70 days from a defendant’s arrest to the beginning of the trial.

There is no similar law governing civil trial scheduling, but on average the courts are able to resolve most civil cases in less than a year.

 

TERRORISM

From the History of Terrorism

The roots of terrorism are in the activities of racial and religious fanatics in the 1930s. Many terrorist movements arose in the 1960s as a part of the world-wide student protest against US participation in the Vietnam War. They started with non-lethal activities - demonstrations, occasional arsons or sabotage. Later terrorist tactics were frequently employed and «improved» by racist groups as the Ku Klux Klan and religious and nationalist groups like the Hezbollah («the army of God»). the Palestine Liberation Front, Red Brigades in Italy, Irish Republican Army, etc. The bloodiest operations have been carried out by Arab and Palestinian terrorists since the 1970s: the massacre of 11 Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympics in 1972, more than 60 bombings and hijacks. The hostages, victims and their targets for extortion were US and European citizens.

 

 

Present Day of Terrorism

Today's terrorist activity is different from that of the past. Modern technology, advanced telecommunications and new Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) have changed the nature of terrorism. Nowadays terrorist organizations have a flexible, transnational structure. They work together in funding, sharing intelligence, training, planning, and executing attacks. Terrorist groups in one country or region can draw strength and support from groups in other countries or regions. As the аl Qaida network demonstrates, this multinational enterprise has its; branches in more than 60 countries. Its global activities are co-ordinated through the use of personal couriers and communication technologies - cellular and satellite phones, e-mail, internet chat rooms, videotape.; Members of terrorist groups travel from continent to continent with the ease of a vacationer or business traveller. They pay their way with funds raised through drug trafficking, credit card fraud, extortion, and money; from covert supporters. They use charitable organisations and nongovernmental organisations for funding and recruitment. Money for their operations is transferred through numerous banks, money exchanges. The terrorist organisation's structure, membership, resources (safe houses, training grounds, reliable communication and financial networks) and security determine its capabilities and reach.

 

Weapons

As we know, a terrorist act can include two, three or more traditional crimes: bombing, murder, kidnapping, taking a hostage, extortion and hijacking, etc. These crimes are usually committed by well-armed and prepared groups. The usual weapons of terrorists from the 1960s to the 1980s were guns, knives, poison gas and car bombs. The ease of intercontinental transportation enables modern terrorist organisations to more easily acquire, manufacture, and deploy chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear weapon, or high-yield explosives. While new instruments of terror such as cyber attacks are on the rise, explosives and bioterrorism (e.g. the Aum Shinrikyo's efforts to deploy biological weapons and the lethal sarin gas attack in the Tokyo subway in 1995, the contaminated letters in the USA in 2001) have become the urgent problem for the international community.

TYPES OF DRUGS

CANNABIS

Cannabis sativa, the hemp plant, grows wild throughout most of the tropic and temperate regions of the world. It is a single species. This plant has long been cultivated for the tough fiber of the stem, the seed used in feed mixtures, and the oil as an ingredient of paint, as well as for its biologically active substances, most highly concentrated in the leaves and resinous flowering tops. The plant material has been used as a drug for centuries. Cannabis products are usually smoked in the form of loosely rolled cigarettes "joints". They may be used alone or in combination with other substances. They may also be administered orally, but are reported to be about three times more potent when smoked.The effects are felt within minutes, reach their peak in 10 to 30 minutes, and may linger for 2 or 3 hours.

MARIHUANA

The term marihuana is used to refer to the cannabis plant and to any part or extract of it that produces somatic or psychic changes in humans. A tobacco-like substance produced by drying the leaves and flowering tops of the plant, marihuana varies significantly in its potency, depending on the source and selectivity of plant materials used.

HASHISH

The Middle East is the main source of hashish. It consists of the drug-rich resinous secretions of the cannabis plant, which are collected, dried, and then compressed into a variety of forms, such as balls, cakes, or cookie-like sheets.

HASHISH OIL

The name is used by illicit drug users and dealers but is a misnomer in suggesting any resemblance to hashish other than its objective of further concentration. Hashish oil is produced by a process of repeated extraction of cannabis plant materials to yield a dark viscous liquid. In terms of its psychoactive effect, a drop or two of this liquid on a cigarette is equal to a single "joint" of marijuana.

 

LSD (LSD-25, lysergide)

LSD is an abbreviation of the German expression for lysergic acid diethylamide. LSD was first synthesized in 1938. Its psychotomimetic effects were discovered in 1943 when a chemist accidentally took some LSD. As he began to experience the effects now known as a "trip," he was aware of vertigo and an intensification of light. Closing his eyes, he saw a stream of fantastic images of extraordinary vividness accompanied by a kaleidoscopic play of colors. This condition lasted for about two hours.

LSD is usually sold in the form of tablets, thin squares of gelatin ("window panes"), or impregnated paper ("blotter acid"). The average effective oral dose is from 30 to 50 micrograms, but the amount per dosage unit varies greatly. The effects of higher doses persist for 10 to 12 hours. Tolerance develops rapidly.

 

HEROIN

First synthesized from morphine in 1874, heroin was not extensively used in medicine until the beginning of this century.

Pure heroin is a white powder with a bitter taste. Illicit heroin may vary in both form and color. Most illicit heroin is a powder which may vary in color from white to dark brown because of impurities left from the manufacturing process or the presence of additives, such as food coloring, cocoa, or brown sugar. Pure heroin is rarely sold on the street. A "bag"-slang for a single dosage unit of heroin - may weigh about 100 mg usually containing about five percent heroin.

 

COCAINE

The most potent stimulant of natural origin, cocaine is extracted from the leaves of the coca plant (Erythroxylon coca). Pure cocaine, the principal psychoactive ingredient, was first isolated in the 1880 s. It was used as an anesthetic in eye surgery for which no previously known drug had been suitable.

Illicit cocaine is usually distributed as a white crystalline powder, often diluted by a variety of other ingredients, the most common of which are sugars such as lactose, inositol, mannitol, and local anesthetics such as lidocaine. The frequent adulteration is to increase volume and thus to multiply profits.

The drug is most commonly administered by being "snorted" through the nasal passages. Symptoms of repeated use in this manner may resemble the congested nose of a common cold. The intensity of the psychological effects of cocaine, as with many psychoactive drugs, depends on the rate of entry into the blood. Intravenous injection or smoking produces an almost immediate intense experience. Cocaine hydrochloride, the usual form in which cocaine is sold, while soluble in water and sometimes injected, is fairly insensive to heat.

"Crack", or cocaine base in the form of chips, chunks or "rocks", is usually vaporized in a pipe or smoked with plant material in a cigarette or a "joint".

 

ECSTASY

One of the most popular of synthetic drugs today is perhaps ecstasy. At first it was considered to be harmless but later on it proved to be extremely harmful for health. It is not completely removed from the body. The expressive word «ecstasy» only designates a whole group of narcotics from the category of amphetamines. They are strong psycho -stimulants. Ecstasy is comparatively cheap which makes it even more dangerous.

 

PEYOTE AND MESCALINE

The primary active ingredient of the peyote cactus is the hallucinogen mescaline. It is derived from the fleshy parts or buttons of this plant, which has been employed by Indians in northern Mexico from the earliest recorded time as a part of traditional religious rites. The Native American Church, which uses peyote in religious ceremonies, has been exempted from certain provisions of the CSA. Peyote, or mescal buttons, and mescaline should not be confused with mescal, the colorless Mexican liquor distilled from the leaves of maguey plants. Usually ground into a powder, peyote is taken orally Mescaline can also be produced synthetically. A dose of 350 to 500 mg of mescaline produces illusions and hallucinations lasting from 5 to 12 hours.

PSILOCYBIN AND PSILOCYN

Like the peyote cactus, Psilocybe mushrooms have been used for centuries in traditional Indian rites. When they are eaten, these "sacred" or "magic" mushrooms affect mood and perception in a manner similar to mescaline and LSD. Their active ingredients, psilocybin and psilocyn, are chemically related to LSD. They can now be made synthetically, but much of what is sold under these names on the illicit market consists of other chemical compounds.

ІМЕННИК (The Noun)

УТВОРЕННЯ МНОЖИНИ ІМЕННИКІВ

(The plural form)

Іменники в англійській мові поділяються на обчислювані (countable nouns) і не обчислювані (uncountable nouns). Обчислювані іменники означають предмети, які можна полічити: chair - стілець; engineer - інженер; question - запитання. Необчислювані іменники – це назви речовин і багатьох абстрактних понять, які не піддаються лічбі: water - вода; milk - молоко; freedom - свобода; friendship - дружба та ін.

Обчислювані іменникі вживаються в однині (the singular) і множині (the plural). На письмі більшість іменників мають у множині закінчення – s. Закінчення- еs додається, якщо іменник в однині закінчується на - s, -ss, -x, -ch, - sh.

lamp- lamps	bus- buses
friend- friends	class- classes
text- texts	fox- foxes
table- tables	dish- dishes
actor- actors	branch- branches
tie- ties	match- matches

 

Правила читання закінчення - (e)s:

[s]	[z]	[iz]
Chiefs	Jobs	places
Proofs	Bands	cases
Tasks	Crimes	pages
Facts	Plans	judges
Debts	Laws	Branches

 

Якщо іменник закінчується на - f або - fe, у множині f змінюється на v з доданням закінчення – es:

leaf – leaves shelf – shelves knife – knives wife – wives.

Винятки:

man – men woman – women fish – fish

foot – feet tooth – teeth sheep – sheep

child – children ox – oxen deer – deer

goose – geese mouse – mice louse – lice

Присвійний відмінок

(the possessive case)

В англійській мові іменник має два відмінка:

загальний відмінок (the Common Case) та присвійний відмінок ( the PossessiveCase).

Присвійний відмінок однини утворюється додаванням до іменника апострофа і закінчення "s", наприклад:

 

student – student’s	friend – friend’s
boy – boy’s	judge – judge’s

 

Якщо іменник у множині закінчується на " s ", то в присвійному відмінку множини до нього додається лише апостроф:

 

students – students’	friends – friends’
boys – boys’	judges – judges’

 

Якщо іменник у множині не має закінчення -s, то в присвійному відмінку до нього додається іапостроф, і буква " s ":

 

that woman’schildren	– those women’s children
the child’s parents	– the children’s parents

 

Іменник у присвійному відмінку, як правило, стоїть перед іншим іменником і є означенням до нього. Українською мовою він перекладається родовим відмінком іменника або присвійним прикметником:

 

My friend’s brother is an officer. His son’s room is small.

У присвійному відмінку вживаються в основному іменникі, що означають назви істот:

 

The girl’s dress is beautiful. Thecat’s eyes are green.

Крім назв істот, у присвійному відмінку вживаються:

1. Іменники, що позначають час і відстань, міри ваги:

а month’s leave, an hour’s work, ten minutes’ walk, а year’s absence, today’s newspaper, yesterday’s meeting, tomorrow’s lecture;

а mile’s distance, two kilometres’ way, а ton’s load.

2. назви країн, міст, місяців, небесних тіл, збірні іменники:

world, country, earth, nature, sun, water, ship;

the world’s famous writer, the country’s political system, the earth’s resources, Britain’s economy, France’s policy.

 

Іменники у формі присвійного відмінку можуть використовуватися без наступного іменника, що означає місцезнаходження. У цьому разі присвійний відмінок має локальне значення:

 

at the baker’s

at the chemist’s

at the hairdresser’s

They were married at St. Paul’s.

 

 

ЗАЙМЕННИК

(The Pronoun)

Разряди займенників

По свому значенню займенники розділяються на 7 разрядів.

Особові займенники

(Personal Pronouns)

Число однина	Особа	Називний	Об’єктний
1-е	I (я)	me (мене, мені)
2-е	you (ти)	you (тебе, тобі)
3-е	he (він) she (вона) It (він, вона,воно)	him (його, йому) her (її, їй) it (його, йому, її, їй)
множина	1-е	we (ми)	us (нас, нам)
2-е	you (ви)	you (вас, вам)
3-е	they (вони)	them (їх, їм)

Присвійні займенники

(Possessive Pronouns)

Особові займенники	Присвійні займенники
1 форма	2 форма
Однина
I	Я	my	мій, моя, моє, мої	mine	мій, моя, моє, мої
he	він	his	його	his	його
she	вона	her	її	hers	її
it	воно	its	його, її	its	його, її
	Множина
We	ми	our	наш, наша, наше, наші	Ours	наш, наша, наше, наші
you	ви	your	ваш, ваша, ваше, ваші	yours	ваш, ваша, ваше, ваші
They	вони	their	їх	theirs	їх

 

Зворотні займенники

(Reflexive and Emphatic Pronouns)

Особа	Однина	Множина
1-е	myself	себя, сам	ourselves	себя, самі
2-е	yourself	себя, сам(а), самі	yourselves	себя, самі
3-е	himself herself itself	себя, сам себя, сама себя, сам, сама, само	themselves	себя, самі

 

Примітка: Ці займенники утворюються додаванням закінчення -self (в однині) і –selves (у множині) до присвійних займенників my, our, your, особових займенників у об’єктному відмінку him, her, it, them.

Вказівні займенники

(Demonstrative Pronouns)

Однина	Множина
this	цей, ця	these [ði:z]	ці
that	той, та	those [ðouz]	ті