'He 6) __________ me,' sobbed Tracey Smith on what should have been the happiest day of her life. 'He told me he loved me. How could he have done this?'
Only days 7) __________ the couple's wedding day Tracey's fiance, Tony Briggs, disappeared with all the money in their joint bank account, his passport and the tickets for their honeymoon in Jamaica....
Text C
Kinds of Cases
Civil Cases. Civil cases are usually disputes between or among private citizens, corporations, governments, government agencies, and other organizations. Most often, the party bringing the suit is asking for money damages for some wrong that has been done. For example, a tenant may sue a landlord for failure to fix a leaky roof, or a landlord may sue a tenant for failure to pay rent. People who have been injured may sue a person or a company they feel is responsible for the injury.
The party bringing the suit is called the PLAINTIFF*; the party being sued is called the DEFENDANT. There may be many plaintiffs or many defendants in the same case.
The plaintiff starts the lawsuit by filing a paper called a COMPLAINT, in which the case against the defendant is stated. The next paper filed is usually the ANSWER, in which the defendant disputes what the plaintiff has said in the complaint. The defendant may also feel that there has been a wrong committed by the plaintiff, in which case a COUNTERCLAIM will be filed along with the answer. It is up to the plaintiff to prove the case against the defendant. In each civil case the judge tells the jury the extent to which the plaintiff must prove the case. This is called the plaintiff’s BURDEN OF PROOF, a burden that the plaintiff must meet in order to win. In most civil cases the plaintiff’s burden is to prove the case by a PREPONDERANCE OF EVIDENCE, that is, that the plaintiff’s version of what happened in the case is more probably true than not true.
Jury verdicts do not need to be unanimous in civil cases. Only ten jurors need to agree upon a verdict if there are 12 jurors: five must agree if there are six jurors.
Criminal Cases. A criminal case is brought by the state or by a city or county against a person or persons accused of having committed a crime. The state, city, or county is called the plaintiff; the accused person is called the defendant. The charge against the defendant is called an information or a complaint. The defendant has pleaded not guilty and you should presume the defendant’s innocence throughout the entire trial unless the plaintiff proves the defendant guilty. The plaintiff’s burden of proof is greater in a criminal case than in a civil case. In each criminal case you hear the judge will tell you all the elements of the crime that the plaintiff must prove; the plaintiff must prove each of these elements beyond reasonable doubt before the defendant can be found guilty.
In criminal cases the verdict must be unanimous, that is, all jurors must agree that the defendant is guilty in order to overcome the presumption of innocence.
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* In Great Britain in civil cases the person suing is now officially called the CLAIMANT.
Vocabulary
accuse v обвинять (в совершении преступления); accuse of crime
обвинить в совершении преступления
ask for damages подать иск о взыскании убытков
bring a suit v возбудить дело
burden of proof [of proving] n бремя доказывания
case n судебное дело; civil case гражданское дело; criminal case
уголовное дело
complaint n 1 жалоба; 2 иск; 3 официальное обвинение; заявление об
обвинении
counterclaim n встречный иск
defendant n 1 ответчик; 2 обвиняемый; 3 подсудимый
dispute n спор; v спорить; parties to dispute стороны в споре;
стороны в конфликте; persons in dispute участники спора; участники
конфликта
file a paper v подать документ
injury n 1 вред; ущерб; 2 телесное повреждение
juror n присяжный заседатель; присяжный; член состава присяжных
jury n присяжные; состав присяжных; коллегия присяжных
jury verdict n вердикт присяжных
landlord n 1 арендодатель; 2 собственник недвижимости
overcome the presumption of innocence опровергнуть презумпцию
невиновности
plaintiff n истец
plead not guilty v заявлять о своей невиновности
preponderance of evidence [of proof] n наличие более веских
доказательств; перевес доказательств
private citizen n частное лицо
state a case v изложить дело; изложить версию
sue v искать в суде; предъявлять иск или обвинение
tenant n арендатор; съемщик
Reading tasks
Answer these questions.
1 What is a civil case?
2 Who is a plaintiff?
3 Who is a defendant?
4 What is a complaint?
5 What is an answer?
6 What is a counterclaim?
7 What is a burden of proof?
8 What is a criminal case?
9 What is preponderance of evidence?
10 _ Who is the plaintiff in a criminal case?
11 _ How many jurors are necessary to agree upon the verdict in a criminal case?
12 What is meant by the presumption of innocence?
Vocabulary tasks
A Find in the text above the English equivalents for the following words and expressions.
1 заявление об обвинении
2 элемент (состава) преступления
3 презумпция невиновности
4 показания (3)
5 истец (2)
6 судебное разбирательство (3)
7 частные лица
8 денежная компенсация ущерба
9 единогласное решение присяжных
10 наличие более веских доказательств
11 письменные объяснения, возражения ответчика по делу
12 ответчик
13 встречный иск
14 бремя доказывания
15 ответственность за ущерб
16 подать иск / возбудить дело
17 заслушать показания
18 заявить о своей невиновности
B Match the following English expressions with their Russian equivalents.
1 evidence for the plaintiff a вызывать истца в суд
2 judgement for the plaintiff b выступать в суде в качестве адвоката истца
3 plaintiff’s claim c доказательства в пользу истца
4 to appear for the plaintiff d исковое требование
5 to call the plaintiff e свидетель, выставленный истцом
6 witness by the plaintiff f судебное решение в пользу истца
С The word DEFENDANT has the following meanings in Russian:
Ответчик
civil defendant – ответчик
Обвиняемый
bailed defendant –обвиняемый или подсудимый, освобождённый
(из-под стражи) под залог
Подсудимый
judgement for the defendant – судебное решение в пользу ответчика или
подсудимого
Подзащитный
representation of defendant – представительство интересов подзащитного
или подсудимого
Match the following English expressions with their Russian equivalents.
1 convicted defendant а подсудимый, содержащийся под
стражей
2 defendant in custody b осужденный
3 defendant’s record c досье подсудимого
4 defendant’s story d свидетель, выставленный
ответчиком/подсудимым
5 defenadant’s witness e версия, выдвинутая обвиняемым
D Match the legal terms with their Russian equivalents.
| party | a | доказывать версию | |
| wrong | b | обвинение | |
| responsible | c | единогласный | |
| to start a lawsuit | d | презумпция невиновности | |
| to prove a case | e | доказать вину | |
| accused person | f | начать судебное дело | |
| charge | g | правонарушение | |
| to prove guilt | h | сторона по делу | |
| presumption of innocence | i | ответственный | |
| unanimous | j | обвиняемый |
E Match the legal terms with their definitions.
| defendant | a | the degree of proof necessary for a criminal conviction or for a successful civil suit | |
| action | b | a group of members of the public who listen to the facts of a case in a court and decide whether or not somebody is guilty of a crime | |
| complaint | c | person charged with a crime | |
| counterclaim | d | a legal process | |
| plaintiff | e | the weight of evidence presented by one side is more convincing to the trier of facts than the evidence presented by the opposing side | |
| burden of proof | f | formal written charge that a person has committed a criminal offence | |
| jury | g | claim presented by a defendant in opposition to the claim of the plaintiff | |
| preponderance of evidence | h | the party who begins an action, complains or sues |
F Complete the text below with the words from the box.
| theft cell investigate fine witnesses | pleaded evidence sentence court | fingerprint arrest charge magistrate | found oath detained handcuff |
A policeman was sent to 1) _________ the disappearance of some property from a hotel. When he arrived, he found that the hotel staff had caught a boy in one of the rooms with a camera and some cash. When the policeman tried to 2) _________ the boy, he became violent and the policeman had to 3)___________ him. At the police station the boy could not give a satisfactory explanation for his actions and the police decided to 4) _________ him with the 5) _________of the camera and cash. They took his 6) _________, locked him in a 7) _________, and 8) _________ him overnight. The next morning he appeared in 9) _________ before the 10) _________. He took an 11) _________ and 12) _________ not guilty. Two 13) _________ the owner of the property and a member of the hotel staff, gave 14) _________. After both sides of the case had been heard the boy was 15) _________ guilty. He had to pay a 16) _________ of £50 and he was given a 17) _________ of three months in prison suspended for two years.
Text D