Text C. COURTS IN ENGLAND AND WALES

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1. Criminal offences may be grouped into three categories. Offences friable only on indictment – the very serious offences such as murder, manslaughter, rape and robbery – are tried only by the Crown Court presided over by a judge sitting with a jury. Summary offences – the least serious offences and the vast majority of criminal cases – are tried by unpaid lay magistrates sitting without a jury. A third category of offences (such as theft, burglary, or malicious woundings) are known as either way offences and can be tried either by magistrates or by the Crown Court depending on the circumstances of each case and the wishes of the defendant.

2. In addition to dealing with summary offences and the either way offences which are entrusted to them, the magistrates’ courts commit cases to the Crown Court either for trial or for sentence. Committals for trial are either of indictable offences or of either way offences, which it has been determined, will be tried in the Crown Court. Committals for sentence occur when the defendant in an either way case has been tried summarily but the court has decided to commit him or her to the Crown Court for sentence.

3. Magistrates must as a rule sit in open court to which the public and the media are admitted. A court normally consists of three lay magistrates – known as justices of the peace – advised on points of law and procedures by a legally qualified clerk or a qualified assistant. Magistrates are appointed by the Lord Chancellor, except in Lancashire, Greater Manchester and Merseyside where appointments are made by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. There are nearly 28, 000 lay magistrates.

Text D. APPEALS

1. A person convicted by a magistrates’ court may appeal to the Crown Court against the sentence imposed if he has pleaded guilty, or against the conviction or sentence imposed if he has not pleaded guilty. Where the appeal is on a point or procedure of law, either the prosecutor or the defendant may appeal from the magistrates` court to the High Court. Appeals from the Crown Court, either against conviction or against sentence, are made to the Court of Appeal. The House of Lords is the final appeal court for all cases, from either the High Court or the Court of Appeal. Before the case can go to the Lords, the court hearing the previous appeal must certify that it involves a point of law of general public importance and either that court or the Lords must grant leave for the appeal to be heard. The nine Lords of Appeal in Ordinary are the judges who deal with Lords appeals.

2. The Attorney-General may seek the opinion of the Court of Appeal on a point of law which has arisen in a case where a person tried on indictment is acquitted; the court has power to refer the point to the House of Lords if necessary. The acquittal in the original case is not affected, nor is the identity of the acquitted person revealed without his or her consent. Under a provision in the Criminal Justice Act 1988, which has not yet been implemented, the Attorney-General would be empowered, where he considered that a sentence passed by the Crown Court was over-lenient, to refer the case to the Court of Appeal, which would be able, if it thought fit, to increase the sentence within the statutory maximum laid down by Parliament for the offence.

5. Выпишите из текстов эквиваленты следующих слов и выражений: суды первой инстанции; обвинять в совершении преступления (правонарушения); накладывать штраф; наказание; приговор; мировой судья; назначать судью; признавать себя виновным (невиновным); подавать апелляцию в суд; оправдать кого-либо.

6. Выпишите из текста 2 предложения, содержащие сказуемое в активном залоге. Подчеркните сказуемое и определите его видовременную форму. Измените предложения таким образом, чтобы сказуемое имело все возможные грамматические формы.

7. Выпишите из текста 2 предложения, содержащие сказуемое в пассивном залоге. Подчеркните сказуемое и определите его видовременную форму. Переведите предложения на русский язык.

8. Составьте резюме, используя образец стр. 27.

КОНТРОЛЬНАЯ РАБОТА №1

Вариант №7

Выполните следующие задания:

1. Образуйте форму множественного числа следующих существительных: a sentence, an offender, a matter, a penalty, a circumstance, a point, a sanction, an order.

2. Поставьте все личные местоимения в объектном падеже и напишите соответствующие им формы притяжательных местоимений.

3. Образуйте степени сравнения следующих прилагательных: positive, dangerous, necessary, short, high, serious, far, near.

4. Прочтите и переведите тексты. Абзац 1 текста B переведите письменно.

Text A. SENTENCING

The sentence passed on an offender is entirely a matter for the courts, subject to the maximum penalty enacted by Parliament for each offence. The Government ensures that the courts have available an adequate range of sentences to suit the circumstances of each case and that they are well informed about the purpose and nature of each available sentence. The Court of Appeal issues guidance to the lower courts on sentencing issues when points of principle have arisen on individual cases which are the subject of appeal.

Text B. CUSTODY

1.The Government believes that custody should be a sanction of last resort used only when the gravity of the offence means that there is a positive justification for a custodial sentence, or where the public needs to be protected from a dangerous offender. The Court of Appeal has stated that sentencers in England and Wales should examine each case in which custody is necessary to ensure that the term imposed is as short as possible, consistent with the courts’ duty to protect the interests of the public and to punish and deter the criminal. A magistrates’ court in England and Wales cannot impose a term of more than six months’ imprisonment for each offence tried summarily, but may impose consecutive sentences subject to an overall maximum of 12 months’ imprisonment. If an offence carries a higher maximum penalty, it may commit the defendant for sentence at the Crown Court, which may impose – within the permitted statutory maximum – any other custodial penalty. As in the rest of Britain there is a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment for murder: this is also the maximum penalty for a number of serious offences such as robbery, rape, arson and manslaughter.

2. The death penalty has been repealed for almost all offences. It remains on the statute book for the offences of treason, piracy with violence and some other treasonable and mutinous offences; it has, however, not been used for any of these offences since 1946.

3. In Scotland the maximum penalty is determined by the status of the court trying the accused unless the sentence is limited by statute. In trials on indictment, the High Court may impose a sentence of imprisonment for any term up to life, and the sheriff court-any term up to three years but many send any person to the High Court for sentence if the court considers its powers are insufficient. In summary cases, the sheriff may normally impose up to three months’ imprisonment or six months for some repeated offences, although his powers are extended by statute in some exceptional cases. In the district court the maximum term of imprisonment is 60 days.

4. In Northern Ireland the position is generally the same as for England and Wales. A magistrates’ court, however, cannot commit an offender for sentencing at the Crown Court if it has tried the case; for certain summary offences, a magistrates’ court may impose a term of imprisonment for up to 12 months. There are also other circumstances when a magistrates court can impose imprisonment of more than six months.

Text C. FINES

The most common sentence is a fine, which is imposed in more than 80 per cent of cases. There is no limit to the fine which may be imposed on indictment; on summary conviction the maximum limit, except in certain exceptional circumstances, is £ 2, 000 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and in Scotland £ 2, 000 in the sheriff court and £ 1, 000 in the district court.

Text D. PROBATION

1. At present in the United Kingdom the number of offenders subject to supervision in the community considerably exceeds the number in custody. The purpose of probation is to protect society by the rehabilitation of the offender, who continues to live a normal life in the community while subject to the supervision of a probation officer. Before placing an offender on probation, which may last from six months to three years, the court must explain the order in ordinary language, ensuring that the offender consents to the requirements of the order and understands that a failure to comply with them will make him or her liable to a penalty or to be dealt with for the original offence. In England and Wales such an order can be made only for offenders aged 17 years or more. In Scotland the minimum age is 16 years and in Northern Ireland 10 years. About 17 per cent of orders in England and Wales contain a variety of additional requirements concerning place of residence, attendance at day centers or treatment for mental illness.

2. The probation service in England and Wales also administers supervision orders, the community service scheme and parole. In addition, social work services are provided in custodial establishments.

3. In England and Wales the cost of the probation service is shared between central and local government and it is administered locally by probation committees of magistrates and members co-opted from the local community. In Scotland probation services are integrated with local authority social work departments, and in Northern Ireland the service is administered by a probation board, whose membership is representative of the community and which is funded by central government.

5. Выпишите из текстов эквиваленты следующих слов и выражений: вынести приговор; максимальное наказание; суды низшей инстанции; защищать интересы общества; наказывать преступника; пожизненное тюремное заключение; наложить штраф; осудить условно; общественные работы.

8. Составьте резюме, используя образец стр. 27.

КОНТРОЛЬНАЯ РАБОТА №1

Вариант №8

Выполните следующие задания:

1. Образуйте форму множественного числа следующих существительных: a system, an agency, a component, a suspect, a sentence, a process, information, a life.

3. Образуйте степени сравнения следующих прилагательных: wide, general, useful, bad, important, just, successful, little.

4. Прочтите и переведите тексты. Абзацы 1, 2 текста В переведите письменно.

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