UNIT 3. THE JUDICIAL SYSTEM OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
TEXT 1. JUDICIAL BRANCH OF THE US GOVERNMENT
VOCABULARY PRACTICE
1. Study the active vocabulary from the text:
1. to apply and interpret laws — применять и толковать законы
2. interact- влиять друг на друга
3. fall under the jurisdiction of - быть подсудным
2. Match the English and the Russian equivalents:
| 1.court system 2. a sharing powers 3. both federal and state governments 4. concern with cases 5. hearing certain cases 6. individuals | a)как федеральное правительство, так и правительство штата b)слушать определенные дела c)рассматривать дела d)система судов e)разделение властей f)частные лица |
READING PRACTICE
Read and translate the text, pay special attention to the vocabulary:
The Judicial Branch of the US government is made up of the court system.
The American court system is very complex.
The U.S. Constitution created a governmental structure for the United
States known as federalism. Federalism refers to a sharing of powers between
the national government and the state governments. Both the federal and state governments need their own court systems to apply and interpret their laws.
That is why the judicial system in the United States is dual: it consists of the federal
court system and the state court systems. The federal courts are concerned with cases arising under federal law, and the state courts with cases arising under state law. While each court system is responsible for hearing certain cases, neither is completely independent of the other, and the systems often interact. And individuals fall under the jurisdiction of two different court systems, their state courts and federal courts.
The judicial branch of the government is physically composed of four thousand court houses in the United States. There are fifteen thousand judges in the US. There are 112,000 clerks in the United states court houses. There are 620,000 lawyers in the United states.
COMPREHENSION PRACTICE
Scan the text to find answers to the following questions.
1. What is the judicial branch of the US government made up of?
2. What is federalism?
3. Why is the judicial system dual in the USA?
4. How many judges are there in the US?
5. What is judicial branch of the government composed of?
2. Complete the following sentences:
1. The American court system is....
2. Federalism refers to....
3. Both the federal and state governments need....
4. The federal courts are concerned with....
5. Individuals fall under....
6. There are fifteen....
7. There are 620,000....
TEXT 2 FEDERAL JUDICIARY
VOCABULARY PRACTICE
1. Study the active vocabulary from the text:
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2. Match the English and the Russian equivalents:
3. Match the words (1-6) with their definitions:
READING PRACTICE
Read and translate the text, pay special attention to the vocabulary:
In the United States the judiciary (which is collective term for courts and judges) is divided into the Federal (National) and State Judiciary.
Federal Judiciary composed of federal courts system organized like a pyramid with 3 tiers.
At the top is the U.S. Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court of the nation and the court of last resort. It consists of a Chief Justice and eight associate justices, all of whom are appointed for life by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate. The main duty of the Supreme Court is to decide whether laws passed by Congress agree with the Constitution. Sitting as a court of first instance it considers cases connected with religion, privacy rights, race and sex discrimination.
In the middle are the U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeal. There are 13 U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeal in the United States. These courts are divided into 12 regional circuits and sit in various cities throughout the country. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (the 13th Court) sits in Washington. These courts will examine the trial record for, only mistakes of law; the facts have already been determined by the U.S. District Court. Therefore, the court usually will neither review the facts of the case nor take any additional evidence. When hearing cases, these courts usually sit in panels of three judges.
At the bottom of the federal judicial pyramid are U.S. District Courts There are 94 U.S. District Courts in the United States. Every state has at least one district court, and some large states, such as California, have as many as four. Each district court has between 2 and 28 judges. The U.S. District Courts are trial courts, or courts of original jurisdiction. This means that most federal cases begin here. U.S. District Courts hear both civil and criminal cases. In many cases, the judge determines issues of law, while the jury (or judge sitting without a jury) determines findings of fact.
Outside the three layer federal judicial pyramid and in addition to it, there are other courts (the U.S. Court of Claims and the U.S. Court of International Trade, magistrate courts, bankruptcy courts, the U.S. Court of Military Appeals, the U.S. Tax Court, and the U.S. Court of Veterans’ Appeals.)
COMPREHENSION PRACTICE