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Английский методичка (Жаровская)

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Every crime is defined by certain elements, each of which must be proven at trial in order to convict the offender. Thus, in addition to proving any required guilty mental state, the prosecutor must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that all of the elements of the crime were committed. For example, robbery is defined as the unlawful taking and carrying away of goods or money from someone’s person by force or intimidation. Thus, the elements of robbery are (1) the taking and carrying away of goods or money, (2) the taking from someone’s person, and (3) the use of force or intimidation.

If someone breaks into your house when you are not at home and takes your property, the person cannot be convicted of robbery. The person did not take the property from a person (no one was home) and therefore could not force or intimidate anyone. However, the person could be guilty of burglary—breaking and entering into a home with intent to commit a felony—because the elements of that crime do not require the taking from a person or the use of force. A single act can be both a crime and a civil wrong. For example, if Clay purposely sets fire to Tamika’s store, the state may file criminal charges against Clay for arson. Tamika may also bring a separate civil action (lawsuit) against Clay to recover for the damage to her store.

Criminal laws exist at both the state and federal levels. Some acts, such as simple assault, disorderly conduct, drunk driving, and shoplifting, can be prosecuted only in a state court unless they occur on federal property, such as a national park. Other acts, such as failure to pay federal taxes, mail fraud, espionage, and international smuggling, can be prosecuted only in a federal court. Certain crimes, such as illegal possession of drugs and bank robbery, can violate both state and federal law and can be prosecuted in both state and federal courts.

Crimes are classified as either felonies or misdemeanors. A felony is any crime for which the potential penalty is imprisonment for more than one year. Felonies are usually more serious crimes. A misdemeanor is any crime for which the potential penalty is imprisonment for one year or less. Minor traffic violations are not considered crimes, although they are punishable by law.

VOCABULARY AND COMPREHENSION EXERCISES

Exercise 5. Answer the questions:

1.What can be considered as a guilty state of mind?

2.When is carelessness not guilty state of mind?

3.Is the state of mind different from motive?

4.What are strict liability crimes?

5.When is a person guilty of burglary?

6.What classes can crimes be divided into?

7.What crimes are prosecuted in criminal court?

8.What crimes are prosecuted in federal court?

9.When is a person guilty of committing a burglary?

10.When is a person chared with committing a shoplifting?

Exercise 6. Fill in the gaps with the words from the box:

Conspiracy

involved

suspect

prisoners

cillegal victims

solicit

withholding

proof

inchoate

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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1.It is ________ for public officials to solicit gifts or money in exchange for favours.

2.The second accident ___________two cars and a lorry.

3.Last night the police apprehended the ___________.

4.She had a child's ___________awareness of language.

5.The children are the innocent/helpless _________ of the fighting.

6.Two _________ have escaped.

7.She has been charged with __________ to murder.

8.Grace has run an online campaign to ___________ employee suggestions.

9.He got five years in prison for ___________ evidence and obstructing the course of justice.

10.Do they have any _________ that it was Hampson who stole the goods?

Exercise 7. Put the verbs in the passage below into the correct tenses. There is an example in the first sentence.

The car thief

My cousin and her husband live in one of the suburbs of London. One morning they (O) ____

(wake up) to find to their dismay that their car (1) ____ (steal) from outside their house. They immediately (2) ____ (phone) the police to report the theft, before (3) ____ (leave) for work by bus.

When they (4) ____ (return) home later the same day, they (5) ____ (find) to their surprise that their car (6) ____ (bring back) and was parked in its usual place outside their house. Under one of the windscreen wipers (7) ____ (be) a small envelope.

They quickly (8) ____ (open) it and (9) ____ (find) a note(10) ____ (apologise) profusely for “borrowing” their car. The man who (11) ____ (write) it explained that he (12) ____ (not have) a car himself, and his wife (13) ____ (go) into labour in the middle of the night with their first baby. So he (14)____(hope) they (15) ____ (not mind) too much that he (16) ____ (take) their car without their permission in order to run her to the hospital, as it was something of an emergency.

By way of compensation, he (17) ____ (enclose) two tickets for the West End show on Saturday evening. They (18) ____ (be) both delighted as they loved music and (19) ____ (try) for ages to get tickets to this particular musical.

It was a perfect evening. They (20) ____ (have) front row seats and the show itself was every bit as good as they (21) ____ (expect). They (22) ____ (be) in such a good mood after it that they

(23)____ (decide) to go for a meal at their favourite Italian restaurant. When they eventually

(24)____ (get) home just after midnight, a new shock (25) ____ (await) them. While they were away, their house (26) ____ (burgle)! Everything of value (27) ____ (steal). They (28) ____ (know) immediately who the thief was because (29) ____ (lie) on the kitchen table was a note in handwriting they (30) ____ (recognise), (31) ____ (say): HOPE YOU (32) ____ (enjoy) THE SHOW!

Exercise 8. Match the names of types of crimes with their associated verbs and the name of the person who commits the crimes.

murder

stealing something from a shop

shoplifting

taking something illegally into another country

burglary

killing someone

 

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smuggling

setting fire to something in a criminal way

arson

taking a person hostage in exchange for money or other

 

favours, etc.

kidnapping

stealing from someone's home

Exercise 9. Here are some more crimes. Give the definition in English: pickpocketing = stealing something from someone's pocket or bag;

terrorism

…..

…..

blackmail

…..

…..

drug-trafficking

…..

…..

forgery

…..

…..

assault

…..

…..

mugging

…..

…..

Exercise 10. Make up sentences using the prepositions: For, of, from, on, upon, against, to, into and the following words:

1.her employer / accuse / her / steal / money.

2.His mother / punish / him / be / rude / to their neighbor.

3.The lock / prevent / burglar / break / house.

4.The jury / convict / him / murder / his wife.

5.His son / apprehend / sell / drugs teenagers.

Exercise 11. Read and discuss the story. Write out the unknown words.

Jack Thatcher. Like his father, he’s a jailbird (закоренелый преступник) – at the age of 40 he has spent most his life in prison for different wrongs of violence and theft. He comes from a poor family, has no real education and has never had a job. The only way he knows how to make money is by stealing it. When he came out of prison last week he decided to rob a village mail office. During the robbery, the mail master tried to ring the alarm (сигнал тревоги) so Jack hit him on the head with his gun. At that moment a customer came into the mail office. She screamed. In panic jack wanted her to keep quite. Than he escaped with the money.

Exercise 12. Answer the questions:

1.What kind of crime was committed by Jack?

2.Why did Jack try to commit the crime?

3.What were the causes of Jack’s way of life?

4.Will the Police be able to arrest him and return the stolen money?

5.In what court must this case be heard?

DISCUSSION

Exercise 1. Discuss the problems:

Problem 1

Anton is a bully. One night while eating at local diner, he notices Derek eating at a nearby table. Anton does not like the band displayed on Derek’s T-shirt, so to show his pals who is in charge, Anton orders Derek to sit at another table. When Derek refuses, Anton punches him in the

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jaw. As a result of the injury, Derek misses several weeks of work and has to pay both medical and dental bills.

1.Has Anton violated civil laws, criminal laws, or both?

2.Who decides whether Anton should be charged criminally? Who decides whether or not to sue Anton in a civil action?

3.If Anton is charged with a crime and is sued in a civil action, would the civil and criminal cases be tried together? Why or why not?

4.Is going to court the only way to handle this problem? What alternatives are there and which do you think would work best?

Problem 2

Harold and Marci decide to burglarize Superior Jewelers. Their friend Carl, an employee at Superior, helps by telling them the location of the store vault. Marci drives a van to the store and acts as the lookout while Harold goes inside and cracks the safe. After Harold and Marci make their getaway, Harold meets a friend, Shawn, who was not involved in the actual burglary. Harold tells Shawn about the burglary, and Shawn helps Harold get a train out of town. David, a former classmate of Harold and Marci, witnesses the crime but does not tell the police, even though he recognizes both Harold and Marci.

1. How will each person be charged? Explain your answer.

Part 2. Crimes and criminals.

VOCABULARY AND READING EXERCISES

Exercise 1. Read and translate the underlined words.Then read and translate the text.

The person who commits a crime is called the principal (or the criminal). For example, the person who fires the gun in a murder is the principal. An accomplice is someone who helps the principal commit a crime. For example, the person who drives the getaway car during a bank robbery is an accomplice. An accomplice may be charged with a crime or helps the principal commit the crime but who is not present during the crime — for example, the mob leader who hires a professional killer—is known as an accessory before the fact. This person can usually be charged with the same crime and can receive the same punishment as the principal. An accessory after the fact is a person who, knowing a crime has been committed, helps the principal or an accomplice avoid capture or helps them escape. This person is not charged with the original crime but may be charged with harboring a fugitive, aiding the escape, or obstructing justice. Being an accessory after the fact has been made a separate crime by statute in many jurisdictions. The victim of a crime is not a party to the crime but might be called as a witness at the trial.

Most crimes occur when a person does something or performs some act in violation of a law. In a few cases, however, failing to act — called an omission — may be a crime if the person had a legal duty to act. For example, it is a crime for a taxpayer to fail to file a tax return or for a motorist to fail to stop after being involved in an automobile accident. A person is guilty of a crime of omission when he or she fails to perform an act required by a criminal law, if he or she is physically able to perform the required act.

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Certain types of behavior take place before or in preparation for committing a crime. These preliminary actions—such as attempt, solicitation, and conspiracy—are crimes in themselves. Sometimes called inchoate crimes, they require proof of criminal intent but can be punished even if the harm intended never occurred. If two people agree to rob a bank, for example, they have committed the offense of conspiracy whether or not they actually rob the bank.

A number of states make it a crime for a person to solicit (or ask, command, urge, advise) another person to commit a crime. The offense is committed at the time the solicitation is made. It does not require that the person solicited, or asked, actually commits the crime. For example, Dennis wishes to kill his wife, Carmella. Lacking the nerve to do the job himself, he asks William to kill her. Even if William refuses, Dennis has committed the crime of solicitation.

In most states, an attempt to commit a crime is itself a crime. To be guilty of an attempted crime, the accused must have both intended to commit a crime and taken some “substantial step” toward committing the crime. When someone performs all of the elements of a crime but fails to achieve the criminal result, an attempt has occurred. For example, when a person intends to shoot and kill someone but misses or merely wounds the intended victim, the person is guilty of attempted murder. Sometimes the crime is foiled before all the necessary steps are completed, such as when a person purchases a gun and intends to shoot another person but is arrested on the way to the intended victim’s house. Courts must then determine whether the actions of the accused constituted a “substantial step” toward the actual commission of the crime or were mere acts of preparation.

VOCABULARY AND COMPREHENSION EXERCISES

Exercise 2. Answer the questions:

1.Who can be called a principle?

2.What person can be called an accomplice?

3.What’sthedifferrence between the terms “misdemeanor” and “felony”?

4.Who can be called as an accessory before the fact?

5.Who can be called as an accessory after the fact?

6.Why can a person be guilty of a crime of omission?

7.Are attempt, solicitation, and conspiracy crimes?

8.What types of behavior are criminal?

9.When do the mere acts of preparation of a crime take place?

10.When do people commit the crime of solicitation?

Exercise 3. Match each word on the left with the appropriate definition on the right:

1)

An arsonist

a) attacks and robs people, often in the streets

2)

A shop-lifter

b) sets fire to property illegally

3)

A murder

c) is anyone who breaks the law

4)

An offender

d) breaks into houses or other buildings to steal

5)

A vandal

e) steals from shops while acting as an ordinary customer

6)

A burglar

f) kills someone

7)

A murderer

g) deliberately causes damage to property

8)

A kidnapper

h) steals things from people’s pockets in crowded places

 

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9) A pickpocket

i) gets secret information from another country

10) An accomplice

j) buys and sells drugs illegally

11) A drug dealer

k) takes away people by force and demands money for their return

12) A spy

l) helps a criminal in a criminal act

13) A terrorist

m) uses violence for political reasons

14) An assassin

n) causes damage or disturbance in public places

15) A hooligan

o) hides on a ship or plane to get a free journey

16) A stowaway

p) takes control of a plane by force and makes the pilot change course

17) A thief

q) murders for political reasons or a reward

18) A hijacker

r) is someone who steals

19) A forger

s) makes counterfeit (false) money or signatures

20) A robber

t) is a member of a criminal group

21) A smuggler

u) steals money, etc. by force from people or places

22) A traitor

v) marries illegally, being married already

23) A gangster

w) is a soldier who runs away from the army

24) A deserter

x) brings goods into a country illegally without paying tax

25) A bigamist

y) illegally carries drugs into another country

26) A drug smuggler

z) betrays his or her country to another state

Exercise 4. Translate the sentences into English:

1.Отнесение сговора к преступлениям позволяет полиции арестовывать сговорщиков до того, как преступление будет совершено.

2.В понедельник трое подростков совершили поджог школы.

3.Преступления против личности включают убийства, похищения, нападения, побои, грабеж и изнасилование.

4.Женщины часто являются объектами для преследования с преступным умыслом.

5.Поджог является умышленным и вредоносным деянием.

6.Люди понесли убытки в миллионы долларов из-за актов вандализма.

7.В большинстве штатов хищение делится на два класса: мелкое и крупное.

8.Почти половина всех школьников в США признались, что они воровали в магазинах в течение предыдущих 12 месяцев.

9.Угон автомобиля является федеральным преступлением и карается заключением на длительный срок, до пожизненного заключения.

10.Компьютерная преступность наносит вред людям и их собственности.

Exercise 5. Look through the list of phrases with the word “crime” in A and find their Russian equivalents in B. Make up your own sentences with the phrases.

A

B

1. crime of aforethought

a) мелкое преступление

2. crime wave

b) покушение на совершение преступления

3. attempted crime

 

4. grave crime

c) преступление против всеобщих законов

5. infamous crime

d) трудно раскрываемое преступление

6. latent crime

e) предумышленное преступление

7. organized crime

f) организованная преступность

8.petty crime

9.crime difficult to trace

10.crime against law of nations

11.crime against property

12.capital crime

13.desist from crime

14.capital crime

15.confess to a crime

16.crime instrument

17.crime investigation

18.crime scene

19.crime suspect

20.crime victim

21.detected crime

22.domestic crime

23.juvenile crime

24.war crime

25.charge with crime

26.to deter crime

27.compulsed participant in a crime

Eercise. 6. Complete the table.

crime

murder burglary shoplifting smuggling kidnapping terrorism blackmail forgery assault rape

arson mugging pickpocketing

drug-trafficking blackmail high-jacking drunken driving

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g) преступление против собственности h) тяжкое преступление

i) волна, динамика преступности j) позорящее преступление

k) отказываться от совершения преступления

l) преступление, караемое смертной казнью

m) скрытая преступность

n) преступление, наказуемое смертной казнью

o)потерпевший от преступления

p)лицо, подозреваемое в совершении преступления

q)обвинять в совершении преступления

r)вынужденный участник преступления

s)признаться в совершении преступления

t)расследование преступления

u)преступление, совершенное несовершеннолетним

v)военное преступление

w)бытовое преступление

x)орудие преступления

y)сдерживать преступность

z)место совершения преступления

aa) раскрытое преступление

criminal

verb

 

 

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theft

robbery

Ex.7. In each group of words find an odd word and explain your choice.

1.blame — charge — prosecution — accusation

2.injure — hurt — harm — haunt

3.witness — testimony — confession — evidence

4.await — expect — estimate — anticipate

5.trial — inquest — ruling — inquiry

6.atrocity — barbarities — outrage — wickedness

7.legality — lawfulness — liability — validity

8.offence — crime — felony — equity

9.outdated — feeble — obsolete — stale

10.recognize — ostracize — accept — acknowledge

11.custody — testimony — captivity — internment

12.hearing — inquiry — inquest — request

13.persuasive — inductive — hypnotic — convincing

14.tribunal — court of law — court-martial — jailbird

15.appeal — prosecution — defense — custody

16.conclude — terminate — determine — close

17.allege — pronounce — declare — state

18.offence — crime — violation — casualty

19.surveillance — observation — surrender — watch

20.regulation — ordeal — rule — law

Exercise 8. Insert prepositions where necessary:

1.A military tribunal sentenced the terrorists ___ life imprisonment.

2.He was tried ___ court-martial and found guilty.

3.They are all ___ detention.

4.The appeal ___ the ruling will be heard next month.

5.You should allow six days ___ check clearance.

6.They tried to impose a ban ___ smoking.

7.The Supreme Court has just turned ___ our appeal.

8.Demands were made for the leader of the sect to be barred ___ Britain.

9.We should get papers ___ next Monday if we are lucky.

10.He died ___ detention.

11.She imposed severe discipline ___ her children.

12.Last week the suspect was finally put ___ custody.

Exercise 9. Read the word combinations with the word “violence”. Insert suitable prepositions where necessary, and make sentences of your own using the phrases. Translate the phrases into Russian.

1. to resort ___ violence

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2.to die ___ violence

3.to do violence ___ a superior

4.to handle smb ___ violence

5.to enter a house ___ violence

6.robbery ___ violence

7.major violence — грубое насилие

8.act ___ violence

9.personal ___violence

10.domestic ___violence

Exercise 10. Take notice of the difference in the use of the following words:

1.imprisonment — the condition of being (put) in prison;

2.confinement — the condition of being confined in or to a place (e.g. solitary confinement);

3.custody — imprisonment under guard (until trial);

4.house arrest — confinement to one’s home;

5.captivity — the state of being a captive;

6.internment — the act of interning or the period of time during which a person is imprisoned.

Exercise 11. Insert one of the words of exercise 22 to suit the situation:

1.His period of ______ was up, he was set free.

2.It has become a custom to raise wild animals in ______.

3.The government was afraid of mass protests if Defoe was imprisoned, so he was put under

______.

4.The “Solidarity” leaders were put in ______ camps.

5.Peter was remanded in ______.

6.The Colonel ordered to keep the Gadfly in solitary ______.

7.His ______ ended last night.

8.His sentence was ______ for five years.

9.The ______ of political prisoners without trial is quite common.

Exercise 12. A criminal is someone who commits a crime. Below are the word combinations with the word “criminal”. Translate them and link each word combination to its definition.

Court of Criminal Appeal, criminal contempt, criminal negligence, criminal court, criminal forfeiture, criminal law, criminal lawyer, criminal procedure, criminal record, habitual criminal, criminal liability, war criminal

1.A barrister or solicitor who specializes in felonies and misdemeanours.

2.A person charged with or convicted of crimes against humanity.

3.Previous crimes of which an individual has been convicted.

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4.Rules governing the investigation of crimes; the arrest, charging and trial of accused criminals; and the sentencing of those convicted.

5.One of the higher courts of law hearing cases sent up for review.

6.Disorderly behaviour, disrespect, or disobedience of a judge’s orders, particularly during a

trial.

7.A person who repeatedly commits offences.

8.Where an individual fails to exercise a duty of care and the resulting action leads to the commission of a crime.

9.The branch of law which deals with felonies and misdemeanours.

10.Loss of property or a right as a consequence of an offence.

11.A court with jurisdiction to hear felonies and misdemeanours.

12.Responsibility for committing a crime (excluded persons include minors and the insane).

Exercise 13. Match the words with their definitions and learn them.

murder, intention, defence, duress, argue, self-defence, convince, mitigation, protect, violence

1.Actions or words which are intended to hurt people; extreme force.

2.The crime of intentionally killing a person.

3.To show disagreement, esp. strong disagreement, in talking or discussing.

4.Reduction in the severity of some penalty; making or becoming milder, less severe, or less painful; moderate.

5.Threats used to force a person to do something.

6.To keep (someone or something) safe from injury, damage or loss.

7.Protection of yourself, either by fighting or discussion.

8.Determination to do a specified thing or act in a specified way.

9.To make someone certain; to persuade.

10.An argument or explanation which you use to prove that you are not guilty of something.

Exercise 14. Read the words denoting different types of legal offences. Match the words in the box with their definitions below.

arson, assault, battery, bigamy, burglary, conversion, coup, libel, robbery, manslaughter, perjury, rape, slander, treason, trespass, theft, sedition, forgery.

1.A sudden action against the government to force it to be changed.

2.The offence of using force against any person, or putting them in fear of being subjected to force, in order to commit a theft.

3.The offence of giving false evidence.

4.A defamatory statement made in permanent form, such as writing, film, television or other public performance.

5.Sexual intercourse with another person without his/her consent.