Jury Service – An Important Job and a Rewarding experience

The right to trial by a jury of our fellow citizens is one of our most important rights and is guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States. By serving on a jury, then, you are helping to guarantee one of our most important freedoms.

Your job as a juror is to listen to all the evidence presented at trial and to decide the facts – that is, what really happened. The judge, on the other hand, decides the law – that is, makes decisions on legal issues that come up during the trial. For example, the judge may have to decide whether you or the other jurors may hear certain evidence or whether one lawyer may ask a witness a certain question. You should not try to decide these legal issues, sometimes you will even be asked to leave the courtroom while they are being decided.

In order to do your job you do not need any special knowledge or ability. It is enough that you keep an open mind, concentrate on the evidence being presented, use your common sense, and be fair and honest. Finally you should not be influenced by sympathy or prejudice: it is vital that you be impartial with regard to all people and all ideas.

How You Were Chosen

Your name was selected at random from voter registration records and placed on a list of potential jurors. Next, your answers to the Questionnaire for Jurors were evaluated to make sure that you were eligible for jury service. To be eligible, you must be over 18 years of age, a citizen of the United States, a resident of the county in which you are to serve as a juror, able to communicate in the English language and if you have been convicted of a felony, you must have had your civil rights restored. People who meet these requirements may be excused or exempt from jury service if they have illnesses that would interfere with their ability to do a good job, would suffer great hardship if required to serve, or are unable to serve for some other reason.

You are here because you were found eligible for jury duty and were able to serve. You are now part of the jury pool, the group of people from which trial juries are chosen.

Selection of the Trial Jury

The first step in the selection of the trial jury is the selection of a jury panel. When you are selected for a jury panel you will be directed to report, along with other panel members, to a courtroom in which a case is to be heard. The judge assigned to that case will tell you about the case and will introduce the lawyers. You will also take an oath, by which you will promise to answer all questions truthfully. Following this explanation of the case and the taking of the oath, the judge and the lawyers will question you and the other members of the panel to find out if you have any personal interest in it, or any feelings that might make it hard for you to be impartial. This process of questioning is called VOIR DIRE, a phrase meaning “to speak the truth”.

Many of the questions the judge and lawyers ask you during VOIR DIRE may seem very personal to you, but you should answer them completely and honestly. Remember that the lawyers are not trying to embarrass you, but are trying to make sure that members of the jury do not have opinions or past experiences which might prevent them from making an impartial decision.

During VOIR DIRE the lawyers may ask the judge to excuse you or another member of the panel from sitting on the jury for this particular case. This is called challenging a juror. There are two types of challenges. One is called a challenge for cause, which means that the lawyer has a specific reason for thinking that the juror would not be impartial. For example, the case may involve the theft of a car. If one of the jurors has had a car stolen and still feels angry or upset about it, the lawyer for the person accused of the theft could ask that the juror be excused for the cause.

The other type of challenge is called a peremptory challenge, which means that the lawyer does not have to state a reason for asking that the juror be excused. Unlike challenges for cause, however, the number of peremptory challenges is limited.

Please try not to take offence if you are excused from serving on a particular jury. The lawyer who challenges you is not suggesting that you lack ability or honesty, merely that there is some doubt about your impartiality because of the circumstances of the particular case and your past experiences. If you are challenged, you will either return to the jury pool and wait to be called for another panel or will be excused from service, depending on the local procedures in the county in which you live.

b) Paraphrase or explain the meaning of the following words and expressions:

- fellow citizens

- courtroom

- prejudice

- to exempt (excuse) from jury service

- to meet the requirements

- impartial decision

- legal issues

- common sense

- to select at random

- to be eligible for the case

- to have one’s civil rights restored

 

c) Answer the questions on the text.

1. What is the job of a juror?

2. What is the job of a judge?

3. What qualities should a good juror have?

4. What requirements should one have to be eligible for jury service?

5. What are the reasons for a person to be excused from jury service?

6. What is the aim of VOIRE DIRE?

7. What is challenging a juror?

8. What are the types of challenge?

TESTS

3^rd Year 5^th Term

TEST 5
(Variant 1)

To complete this Test refer to GRAMMAR REFERENCE for revision.

GRAMMAR

Conditionals

1. Complete each sentence below with the best answer.

Example: 1a

1. If I … to work so much, I would have gone to the party last night.

a) didn’t have

b) haven’t

c) hadn’t had

2. If I had won the lottery, I … rich.

a) be

b) were

c) would be

3. If Roberts … born in the United States, she wouldn’t need a visa to work there.

a) was

b) were

c) had been

4. If I … rich, I would have bought that Ferrari we saw yesterday.

a) were

b) be

c) would be

5. Nothing would happen if you … me the truth.

a) told

b) tell

c) had told

 

2. Using the words in brackets, complete the sentences below with the appropriate conditional forms.

Example: 1) spoke; would have translated

 

1) If Heather (speak) Chinese, she (translate) the e-mail for you yesterday.

2) If I (have) enough money, I (go) on safari in Kenya. However, my bank account is empty!

3) I really wanted to go on safari to Kenya with my friends, but I couldn’t afford to go. If I (have) enough money, I (go) with them.

4) I love to travel! If I (have) enough money, I (go) abroad. I do it almost every year.

5) I’m afraid I won’t be able to come to your wedding next week because my company is sending me to New York to attend a trade show. I (miss, never) your wedding if I (have) a choice in the matter.

6)If you (help) me move tomorrow, I (treat) you to a dinner and a movie.

7) Unless you (buy) such an old car, you (not/have) to fix it all the time.

8) If I (be) you, I (order) more food for the last party.

9) If she (leave) last night, she (be) in London now.

10) The grass (look) better if you (water) it before.

Word Formation

1. Complete each sentence below by choosing the correct word form (verb, noun, adjective).

Example: 1a

 

1. He escaped from … by playing video games every afternoon.

a) reality

b) realistic

c) real

2. The rain will … soon.

a) weak

b) weaken

c) weakness

3. He’s been having treatment for two weeks now without any …

a) improvement

b) improve

c) improved

4. Ella complained that the company never gave her any … for her work.

a) recognize

b) recognizable

c) recognition

5. Don’t press the ‘submit’ button before … of all 10 sentences.

a) complete

b) completely

c) completion

6. Don’t press the ‘submit’ button before you … all 10 sentences.

a) complete

b) completely

c) completion

7. I don’t know where I’m going on my vacation. I haven’t … my plans yet.

a) final

b) finalized

c) finally

8. This is my … vacation plan: I’m going to San Francisco for a week.

a) final

b) finalized

c) finally

 

2. Add the appropriate suffixes to the words in brackets to fill in the blanks with suitable word forms.

Example: 1) agreement

 

1) What … have you reached? (agree)

2) Funny and unusual … attract customers. (advertise)

3) Many … do their shopping at the weekend. (shop)

4) Could you please give me a detailed … of a current situation? (describe)

5) … plan for the next 5 years will be presented by the manager. (finances)

6) I believe this century is marked by the … of mobile phone. (invent)

7) An outstanding characteristic of the teacher is his … (flexible)

8) The magazine was full of stories of the private lives of … people. (fame)

9) A taxi, sometimes called a cab, is the most … way of travel. (comfort)

10) The … are thinking of going on strike. (employ)

 

3. The nouns below can all be used to form another noun which has a related, but slightly different meaning by adding the suffix - ship(member –membership). Complete the sentences which follow by choosing a suitable noun in -ship from the list below. Rewrite the sentences.

Choose from: scholar/relation/author/owner/friend

 

1) Home … is growing in Britain as more and more people are able to buy their own house.

2) Nothing is known of the … of the book.

3) It wasn’t easy for Martin to win a … to the University.

4) There were ties of closest … between them.

5) He admitted his affair with Susan could never develop into a lasting …

4. Choose the correct word to complete each sentence below.

Example: 1b

 

1. There is no doubt that cannabis will remain an … drug for the foreseeable future.

a) unlegal

b) illegal

2. It was quite … for us to drive all the way from Paris to Madrid in one day.

a) impossible

b) unimpossible

3. He made an … attempt to climb the highest mountain in the range.

a) nonsuccessful

b) unsuccessful

4. She was fired because she was …

a) inefficient

b) unefficient

5. When you are done using the computer don’t forget to … it.

a) disconnect

b) unconnect

6. It was very … of him to insult his mother in front of his aunt.

a) impolite

b) unpolite

7. They were a completely … family and I never thought that one day I would marry one of the daughters.

a) unreligious

b) irrerlegious

8. The goods were … and had to be returned to the store we bought them from.

a) unperfect

b) imperfect

9. As a politician he was … and it was not long before nobody trusted him.

a) dishonest

b) unhonest

10. She was … to take the test because she was really sick.

a) unable

b) inable

 

5. Complete the definitions on the left with the words on the right. Use a dictionary if necessary.

Example: 1) imperfect

1) If something is … it is not completely correct.	irreversible
2) Somebody who is … is fair and without any prejudice.	disapprove
3) If you are … you betray your friends or your country.	illegitimate
4) Something that is … cannot be changed back.	unequal
5) To … something means not to agree with something.	imperfect
6) If something is … it means it is not allowed or accepted.	independent
7) Things that are different in size, amount, number, degree, value, etc. are …	disloyal
8) Persons who are free and not controlled by others are ….	impartial

VOCABULARY

1. Complete the following text with the words and phrases from the box.

Example: a) federal

constitutions structure national

federal government responsibility

laws communities states

 

The United States is a a) … union of 50 b) …, with District of Columbia as the seat of the c) … government. The Constitution outlines the d) … of the national government and specifies its powers and activities. Other government activities are the e) … of the individual states, which have their own f) … and g) …. Within each state there are local h) … such as counties, cities, townships and villages, each of which has its own elective i) ….

 

READING COMPREHENSION

a) Read the text “Political Attitudes”.

Political Attitudes

It’s often said and does seem to be true: Americans seem almost instinctively to dislike their government and politicians. They especially tend to dislike those “fools in Washington” who spend their tax money and are always trying to “interfere” with their local and private concerns. Many would, no doubt, agree with the statement that the best government is the one that governs least.

Americans are seldom impressed by government officials (they do like royalty, as long as it’s not theirs). They distrust people who call themselves experts. They do not like being ordered to do anything. For example, in the Revolutionary War of Independence (1776-83) and in the Civil War (1861-1865), American soldiers often elected their own officers. In their films and fictions as well as in television series, Americans often portray corrupt politicians and incompetent officials. Anyone who wants to be President, they say with a smile, isn’t qualified. Their newsmen and journalists and television reporters are known all over the world for “not showing proper respect” to governmental leaders, whether their own or others. As thousands of foreign observers have remarked, Americans simply do not like authority.

Many visitors to the US are surprised to see that Americans from different spheres of life, people with different educational and social backgrounds, will often start talking with one another “just as if they were all equal”. Is everybody equal in the land that proclaimed – in the eyes of God and the law – that “all men are created equal”? No, of course, not. Some have advantages of birth, wealth or talent. Some have been to better schools. Some have skins or accents, or beliefs that their neighbors do not especially like. Yet the ideal is ever present in the land where so many different races, language groups, cultural and religious beliefs, hopes, dreams, traditional dislikes have come together.

All in all, what do Americans think of their system of government? What would “We the People” decide today? One American, a Nobel Prize winner in literature, gave this opinion: “We are able to believe that our government is weak, stupid, dishonest, and inefficient, and at the same time we are deeply convinced that it is the best government in the world, and we would like to impose it on everyone else.”

 

b) To show that you understand the main points of the text, answer the following questions in writing. Give as laconic answers as possible.

1) What do Americans seem to feel to their government and politicians?

2) What do they dislike most of all?

3) Why do Americans show disrespect to government officials, whether their own or others?

4) What are many visitors to the United States surprised to see?

5) Is everybody really equal in the land that proclaimed that “all men are created equal”?

6) Do Americans really dislike their government and would like to change it?

 

c) Translate the marked passage of the text into Russian in writing.

TEST 5
(Variant 2)

To complete this Test refer to GRAMMAR REFERENCE for revision.

GRAMMAR

Conditionals