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TASK 1. Find the appropriate English equivalents to the following word-combinations

Бесчеловечные действия, смертная казнь, отсрочка исполнения наказания, нанесение тяжких телесных повреждений, вооруженное ограбление, выдвинуть обвинение, признать вину, предать суду, вести судебный процесс, предстать перед судом, повторное рассмотрение дела, суд и присяжные, содержать под стражей, опознать преступника, собирать улики, методы наблюдения, отбывать срок наказания, опрашивать подозреваемых и свидетелей.

TASK 2. Read and translate the following two texts.

THE CONCEPT OF CRIME

Crime and punishment — respectively, the intentional commission of an act usually deemed socially harmful or dangerous and specifically defined, prohibited, and punishable under the criminal law; and the infliction of some kind of pain or loss upon a person found guilty of committing such a misdeed. Crime is whatever conduct the laws of a particular jurisdiction designate as criminal, and there are many differences from one country to another as to what behaviour is prohibited. Conduct that is lawful in one country may be criminal in another, and activity that amounts to a trivial infraction in one country may constitute a serious crime elsewhere. Changing times and social attitudes may lead to changes in the criminal law, so that behaviour that was once criminal becomes lawful. Abortion, once prohibited except in the most unusual circumstances, has become lawful in many countries, as has homosexual behaviour in private between consenting adults, which was once a serious offense. Suicide and attempted suicide, once criminal, have also been removed from the criminal law in many countries. The trend generally is to increase the scope of the criminal law rather than to reduce it. It is more common to find that laws create new criminal offenses than that they abolish old ones. New technologies give rise to new opportunities for their abuse, which in turn give rise to legal restrictions; just as the invention of the motor vehicle led to the creation of new criminal laws designed to regulate its use, so the use of computers has created the need to legislate against new abuses and frauds — or old frauds committed in new ways.

CRIMINAL RESPONSIBILITY

Criminal responsibility is not limited only to those who perform the criminal acts themselves. As a general principle, anyone who «aids and abets» the perpetrator by encouraging or in any way knowingly helping him (for instance, by providing information, implements, or practical help) is an accomplice and is considered equally guilty. Those who actually perform the criminal act (e.g., wielding the weapon that strikes the fatal blow) are called principals in the first degree; those who assist at the time of the commission of the offense (e.g., holding the victim down while the principal in the first degree strikes the blow) are principals in the second degree; and those who assist before the crime takes place (e.g., by lending the weapon or by providing information) are accessories before the fact. As a general rule, all are equally responsible in the eyes of the law and liable to the same punishment. In many cases the accessory before the fact will be considered more culpable — if, for instance, he has instigated the offense and arranged for it to be committed. In some cases the person who actually performs the act that causes the crime is completely innocent of evil intent — for instance, the nurse who administers to a patient, on the doctor’s instructions, what she believes to be medicine but what is in fact poison. In this situation the person who carries out the act is an innocent agent and is not criminally responsible; the person who causes the innocent agent to act is the principal in the first degree. The accessory after the fact is one who helps a felon to evade arrest or conviction, by, for example, hiding him or destroying evidence

TASK 3. Find Russian equivalents to the following English words: crime,  punishment, criminal law, to commit a crime, to conduct a law, of a particular jurisdiction, a criminal, lawful, to constitute a serious crime, to create a criminal offense, legal restrictions, to legislate against smth., criminal responsibility, to perform a criminal act, to be considered equally guilty, a principal in the first degree, a principal in the second degree, an accessory before the fact, an accessory after the fact, to be responsible in the eyes of the law, to evade arrest or conviction.

TASK 4. Read and translate the text. Get ready to speak about your lawyer’s work.

The following model can be helpful.

Lawyers work to assure the principle of equal justice under law to the people of the state. A lawyer can be an advisor or an advocate. As an advisor, a lawyer informs clients about legal matters or represents his/her clients in such matters as contracts and commercial transactions. As an advocate, a lawyer acts for the client in court.

As for me, I am an in-house lawyer. I am responsible for overseeing all of the company’s legal relationships …

LAWYER’S WORK

Lawyers work to assure the principle of equal justice under law to the people of the state. A lawyer is both an advisor and an advocate. As an advisor, a lawyer informs clients about legal matters or represents persons, businesses and government in such matters as contracts and commercial transactions. As an advocate, a lawyer acts for the client in court. He also advocates on behalf of clients in resolving disputes out of court.

Lawyers can defend or prosecute those accused of committing a crime. Lawyers research legal issues, draft contracts, wills and other documents, counsel, mediate and negotiate settlements. Some lawyers work as in-house lawyers specializing in advising corporations. They also act for the company in court if a dispute arises.

Most lawyers practise in law firms that can be small or big, but usually have different areas to counsel clients. Such law firm lawyers concentrate on a certain practice area: taxation or intellectual property, some practise public interest law, working to protect the environment.

Lawyers also work for various government agencies and organizations. Some lawyers may be appointed or elected to serve as judges. Judges preside in the courtroom. They resolve disputes and give judgments. In a jury trial they rule on points of law and tell the jury about the law that governs the case.

Legal careers also include teaching law and research. Careers in law enforcement, police officers, customs officers are possible after obtaining a criminal justice degree.