7. Trial. If you commit a crime you may be:

accused

arrested

charged

convicted

interrogated

paroled

sent to prison

suspected

tried

Put these actions in the correct order.

8. A. There are a number of gaps in these stories. Use the words below to complete them.

B. Make up a similar story. Use some of the language you've been studying.

1.

unsolved	guilty	suspect	lie-detector	clues	post-mortem	file
served	clean	parole	manhunt	cops	fingerprints	warrant
self-defence	alibi	red-handed	evidence	handcuffs	police	crime

At night the Swarts' neighbours heard some shots and called the ... . When several ... arrived Swarts were dead. It was an unspeakable ... . Unfortunately, the detectives couldn't catch the murderer ... . Doctors performed a ... . The police launched a massive ... for the criminal. They questioned a lot of people. But they found no real ... that could lead them to the killer responsible. A fingerprint on Mr Swart's rifle led the cops to his nephew, Patrick Swart. But there was insufficient ... to find him guilty.

The investigation dragged on for years until eventually the massive file was stored with other cases of ... murders. Then a new police chief dusted off the ... and handed it to top cop Bill Brown. His investigation took him full circle - back to the original prime ... . The cop checked on his ... . He learned that it was not as airtight as he first believed. He came to the conclusion that he could easily have done it. An investigation by Interpol showed he had extensive criminal backgrounds and had also ... prison sentences.

Armed with a search ... , the detective and a team of officers went over P. Swart's house with a fine-tooth comb. Soon they found the Swarts' jewellery there. Patrick had his ... taken and he was led away in ... . Swart agreed to a ... test but failed it. Then he decided to come ... . At first Swart claimed that he did it in ... . Then he claimed he was out of his mind at the time. Nonetheless, Swart was found ... and sentenced to life in prison, without a chance of ... for thirty years.

2.

accused acquit civil suits counsel

court cross-examination fault guilty

judge jurors jury legal disputes

legislature list money officer

panel sentence swear testimony

trial witness

Trial by Jury

A jury is a selected group of laymen that hears the ….. in ….. and decides the facts. A courtroom trial in which a ..... decides the facts is called a ….. by jury.

Before each ….. term, a jury commissioner or another public ….. prepares a panel, or large initial ….. of qualified jurors. For each trial, ….. are selected by lot from this ….. . Before the trial begins, the jurors ….. to decide the facts fairly. They hear the ….. given by witnesses for both sides, including ….. . Then ….. for each side sum up, or summarize the case, and the ….. explains the applicable law in his instructions to the jury.

In ….. for financial damages, the jury must decide who is at ..... and must determine the amount of ….. to be paid. In criminal cases, the jury must decide whether or not the …… is guilty "beyond a reasonable doubt", and then either return a verdict of guilty, or ….. the defendant by a verdict of not guilty. If the verdict is ….. the judge imposes the ….. , or punishment, within limits that have been fixed by the ….. .

9. Enact a role play "Trying a criminal case". You are the jury and must decide whether to acquit the accused or sentence them to a term of imprison­ment (minimum 3 months/maximum life). Or could you think of a more appro­priate punishment?

Case 1. A driver while speeding hit a cyclist off her bike. She was badly injured and confined to a wheelchair for the rest of her life. The driver didn't stop so he's charged with hit and run.

Case 2. The accused is a doctor who gave an overdose to an 87-year-old woman. She had a terminal illness, was in constant pain and had asked for the overdose. Her family are accusing the doctor of murder.

Case 3. A. and B. mug Mr X., take his money and leave him for dead. B. later returns alone and pushes the body in the riv­er. An autopsy reveals that the man was still just alive when pushed in the water and subsequently drowned.