Методическая разработка "Court System"

4

СОДЕРЖАНИЕ

Text 1

The Legal System of the United States of America.

The judicial branch of the federal government is headed by the U.S. Supreme Court, which interprets the meaning of the Constitution and of federal laws. It consists of nine justices (including the chief justice) appointed for life by the president with the consent of the Senate. It has appellate jurisdiction for the lower federal courts and from state courts of last resort if a federal question is involved. The court has original jurisdiction over cases involving foreign ambassadors, ministers, consuls and cases to which a state is a party.

Three types of cases commonly reach the Supreme Court: cases involving litigants of different states, cases involving the interpretation of federal law and cases involving the interpretation of the Constitution. The court can take official action with as few as six judges joining in deliberation, and a majority vote of the entire court is decisive; a tie vote sustains a lower-court decision. Often the minority judges write a dissenting report.

The Supreme Court has often been criticised for its decisions. In the 1930s, for example, a conservative court overturned much of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal legislation. In the area of civil rights it has received criticism from various groups at different times. After a 1954 ruling against school segregation, Southern political leaders attacked it harshly. Later, they were joined by Northern conservatives. A number of decisions involving the pre-trial rights of prisoners also came under attack on the ground that the court had made it difficult to convict criminals.

Below the Supreme Court are the U.S. courts of appeals. Special courts handle property and contract damage suits against the United States (U.S. Claims Court), review customs rulings (U.S. Court of International Trade), and apply the Uniform Code of Military Justice (U.S. Court of Military Appeals). Each state has at least one federal district court and at least one federal judge. District judges are appointed for life by the president with Senate consent. Appeals from district-court decisions are carried to the courts of appeals.

1. What is the main duty of the Supreme Court?

2. What is the structure of the Supreme Court?

3. What type of cases does the Supreme Court deal with?

4. How are the distinct judges appointed?

2. Read the text carefully and make up a table of the U.S. Court system.

1. Do the internet research and explain the following terms:

Solicitors, barristers, the jury, attorneys, judges, Justices of the Peace (JPs), Magistrates' Court, prosecution, defense.

Text 2

English Justice

The English have given the world, notably North America and much of the Commonwealth, the system of English law that has acquired a status and universality to match Roman law. This, too, had its origins in Anglo-Saxon times, and two of its hallmarks are its preference for customary law (the common law) rather than statute law and its system of application by locally appointed part-time magistrates, by locally chosen juries, and by the traveling judges going from one county town to another on circuit.

Under the Normans, the Anglo-Saxon system was retained but formalized; for example, by the recording of case law to provide uniform precedents, which began in the 13th century.

In modern times there has been a greater reliance upon the statute law contained in some 3,000 acts of Parliament, but there are more than 300,000 recorded cases to turn to for precedent. Other aspects of the English law are the fundamental assumption that an accused person is deemed innocent until proved guilty and the independence of the judiciary from intervention by crown or government in the judicial process.

The legal system is divided into civil and criminal courts. The House of Lords is the ultimate court of appeal for both civil and criminal cases brought through the High Court or the Court of Appeal. In, 1971, the Crown Courts replaced the individual courts, and it is now a single court that may sit anywhere in England, deal with any trial on indictment, and hear appeals and proceedings either on a sentence or on civil matters. At the base of the criminal court system, the magistrates' courts try more than 97 percent of the criminal cases.

1. Read the text carefully and comment on the English Court system using the table given bellow.

2. Discuss some problem-questions:

1. What are the two hallmarks of the system of English law that had their origins in Anglo- Saxon times?

2. What are the fundamental principles of modern English law?

3. When did the Crown Courts replace the individual courts?

ENGLISH COURTS

HIGH COURT OF ENGLAND COURT OF APPEAL CROWN COURT

MAGISTRATE’S COURT COUNTY COURT

CIVIL CASES CRIMINAL CASES

Text 3

Justice in Scotland

In law Scotland has preserved its own system and courts. The lord advocate and the solicitor general for Scotland are the ministers responsible for justice; they advise the government on legal affairs and help to draft legislation. The country is divided into six sheriffdoms, each with a sheriff principal (chief judge) and a varying number of sheriffs.

The most serious offences triable by jury are reserved for the High Court of Justiciary, the supreme court for criminal cases. The judges are the same as those of the Court of Session, the supreme court for civil cases. An appeal may be directed to the House of Lords from the Court of Session, but not from the High Court of Justiciary.

The Court of Session, consisting of the lord president, the lord justice clerk, and 22 other judges, sits in Edinburgh and is divided into Inner and Outer houses. The Outer House judges hear cases at first instance. The Inner House, of which there are two divisions, each of four judges, hears appeals from the Outer House and from inferior courts. The sheriff courts have a wide jurisdiction in civil cases, but certain actions, such as challenging government decisions, are reserved for the Court of Session. They also deal with most criminal offenses, with serious cases tried by jury.

The police investigate cases of crime discovered by or made known to them, but the decision whether or not to prosecute is made by the lord advocate in the High Court and by procurator fiscals in the sheriff courts. District courts, presided over by lay judges, deal with minor criminal offences. In 1971 a system of children's hearings was set up to deal with children in difficulties, whether from lack of parental control, criminal behaviour, or other cause.

JUSTICE IN SCOTLAND

THE HIGH COURT OF JUSTICIARY

THE HOUSE OF LORDS DISTRICT COURTS

COURT OF APPEAL MINOR CRIMINAL

OFFENCES

SHERIFF COURTS

THE COURT OF SESSION IN CIVIL CASES

CIVIL CASES FAMILY JUVENILE

COURTS COURTS

INNER HOUSE OUTER HOUSE

1 INSTANCE CASES

Text 4

Judiciary and security in Northern Ireland

In most respects the administration of justice reflects the system in the United Kingdom as a whole, being administered by the Crown Court, the High Court, and the Court of Appeal, with final recourse to the House of Lords. Minor offences are dealt with by a magistrates' court, and others in county courts supervised by a judge and subject to a jury. The exception is that crimes dealing with terrorism are heard by a single judge with no jury.

In 1995 the independent Criminal Cases Review Commission was created to examine convictions and sentencing as part of the appeal process.

Civil order is maintained by the Royal Ulster Constabulary. In 1972 regular troops of the British army entered the country to quell civil strife and thereafter continued to be deployed in the province. They are assisted by the locally recruited Ulster Defence Regiment.

1. Discuss some problem-questions

1. What are the institutions that administer Irish justice?

2. What kind of crimes are heard by a single judge with no jury?

3. What institution is civil order maintained by?

2. Find equivalents for the following in the text

1. независимая Комиссия Обзора Уголовных дел

2. правосудие отражает систему в целом

3. гражданский порядок поддерживается королевской полицией Ольстера

4. Британские войска входят в страны, чтобы подавлять

5. Суд Короны, Верховный Суд, Апелляционный Суд

Text 5

Commonwealth court system.

The Federal Court of Australia was created in 1976 and began to exercise its jurisdiction on 1 February 1977. The Federal Court sits as required in each State, in the Australian Capital Territory and the Nothern Territory.

The Federal Court of Australia has an original jurisdiction as is invested in it by laws made by the Commonwealth Parliament including cases with the Commonwealth Government, in bankruptcy, corporations law, industrial relations, taxation and trade practices law.

The Federal Court service was established at the end of 1999. The service is an independent federal court under the Constitution. The Federal Magistrates jurisdiction includes family law and child support, administrative law, bankruptcy law and consumer protection law. The jurisdiction is shared with the Family Court of Australia and in some areas state courts also.

Australian State and Territory courts have original jurisdiction in all matters brought under State and Territory laws, and in matters arising under federal laws, where jurisdiction has been conferred on the courts by the Commonwealth Parliament. Most criminal matters, whether arising under Commonwealth, State or Territory law, are dealt with by State or Territory courts.

Small Claims Courts are tribunals have been established in all States and Territories to enable minor legal disputes to be dealt with quickly, cheaply and informally. Procedures have been simplified in these courts and tribunals to facilitate small claims. In some jurisdictions legal representation is permitted, in others it is only permitted by agreement of the parties. There are also limitations on the recovery of costs.

COMMONWEALTH COURTS

HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA FEDERAL COURT FAMILY COURT

OF AUSTRALIA OF AUSTRALIA

ORIGINAL APPELATE

FEDERAL COURT

SERVICE

STATE AND TERRITORIAL COURTS

STATE AND TERRITORIAL

SUPREME COURT STATE AND TERRITORIAL

INTERMIDIATE COURT

STATE AND TERRITORIAL

SMALL CLAIMS COURT OF SUMMARY

COURTS JURISDICTION

Text 6

Court system in New Zealand

Supreme Court of New Zealand

The Supreme Court Act 2003 Establishes the Supreme Court of New Zealand. The Act establishes within New Zealand a new court of final appeal comprising New Zealand judges - to recognise that New Zealand is an independent nation with its own history and traditions; and to enable important legal matters, including legal matters relating to the Treaty of Waitangi, to be resolved with an understanding of New Zealand conditions, history and traditions; and to improve access to justice.

New Zealand Court of Appeal

The Court of Appeal, located in Wellington, is New Zealand's principal intermediate appellate court. In practice, most appeals are resolved at this intermediate appellate level, rather than in the Supreme Court. The Court of Appeal has existed as a separate court since 1862 but, until 1957, it was composed of Judges of the Supreme Court (as the High Court was known then) sitting periodically in panels. The President and six other permanent appellate Judges constitute the full-time working membership of the Court.

The Court sits in panels of five Judges and three Judges depending on the nature mid wider significance of the particular case. A considerable number of three-Judge cases are heard by divisional courts consisting of one permanent Judge and two High Court Judges seconded for that purpose.

The Court deals with civil and criminal appeals from proceedings heard in the High Court, and indictable criminal proceedings in District Courts. As well, matters appealed to the High Court from a District Court can be taken to the Court of Appeal with leave if they are considered to be of sufficient significance to 'warrant a second appeal. The Court may, if it grants leave, hear appeals against pre-trial rulings in criminal cases. Finally, the Court hears appeals on questions of law from the Employment Court.

New Zealand High Court

The High Court, which was established in 1841 and known as the Supreme Court until 1980, is of pivotal importance in New Zealand's justice system. It has general jurisdiction and responsibility, under the Judicature Act 1908, for the administration of justice throughout New Zealand. This includes maintaining the consistent application of the rule of law, supervision of other courts and tribunals, and the judicial review of administrative power. It has jurisdiction over both criminal and civil matters, and deals with cases at first instance or on appeal from other courts and certain tribunals.

The Court has virtually unlimited jurisdiction in civil cases, but generally deals only with those civil claims that exceed jurisdiction of the District Court or other courts and tribunals, or where particularly complex issues are involved. This jurisdiction includes matters concerning admiralty, company law, bankruptcy, the administration of estates and trusts, property transfer, land valuation, and many other areas.

Rights of appeal to the High Court exist against the decisions of District, Family, Youth and Environment Courts and numerous administrative tribunals and regulatory bodies.

District Court of New Zealand

New Zealand has had courts that deal with minor criminal offences and civil claims since the mid-1840s. These courts have been known at different times as District Local Courts and Magistrates Courts. In 1980 the Magistrates Courts were renamed District Courts and their jurisdiction increased.

There are currently 66 District Courts throughout New Zealand. Many of these have resident Judges, and Judges visit the remaining Courts on circuit from time to time. The District Courts Act 1947 provides for a maximum of 120 District Court Judges.

The District Courts Act also sets the jurisdiction of the District Courts. In the civil jurisdiction, the District Courts can determine claims involving up to $200,000. At the lower end of the scale, some claims involving less than $7500 are now dealt with by the Disputes Tribunals. In the criminal jurisdiction, the District Courts still cover minor offences, but can now also conduct trials for some serious offences, such as rape and aggravated robbery.

1. Read the text thoroughly and ask your partner comprehension questions.

Australian Court division, the number of judges, district courts, civil and criminal cases, customs and traditions in Australian jurisdiction.

1. Choose the proper words and fill in the blanks.

1. It has general jurisdiction and responsibility, under____________, for the administration of justice throughout New Zealand.

a)the Supreme Court b) the Judicature Act 1908

1. It has jurisdiction over______________, and deals with cases at first instance or on appeal from other courts and certain tribunals.

a) both criminal and civil matters b) criminal matters c) civil matters

1. The District Courts Act 1947 provides for a maximum of ________Court Judges.

a) five Judges b) 10 Family c) 120 District

THE COURT SYSTEM IN NEW ZEALAND

THE HIGH COURT OF NEW ZEALAND

NEW ZEALAND COURT OF APPEAL

DISTRICT

COURTS

FAMILY SMALL CLAIMS YOUTH ENVIRONMENT

COURT COURT COURT COURTS

1. Speak about the Court System in the Russian Federation according to the table given bellow.

THE COURT SYSTEM OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION

THE CONSTITUTIONAL THE SUPREME THE SUPREME

COURT COURT ARBITRARY

COURT

THE SUPREME REGIONAL CITY THE COURT OF MARTIAL COUNTRY

COURT OF COURTS AUTHONOMOUS COURT ARBITRARY

REPUBLIC REGION COURT

GARISON

COURT

THE JUSTICE ARBITRARY COURT

DISTRICT OF THE PEACE OF THE SUBJECT OF

COURT THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION

SUPPLEMENTARY TEXTS FOR READING AND DISCUSSION

Text 7

Interpol (International Criminal Police Organization)

1. What is an "International criminal"? It is not a new type of wrongdoer. The term is simply one of practical convenience. For example, if a man kills a woman in London and then escapes in the USA, he becomes an "International criminal". If the term were based on some legal concept, we should recognize the existence of such a thing as international crime. At the beginning of the 20^th century it was necessary that the international organization should be created to combat crime and to exchange ideas and methods between the police forces in the world. It came into being under the name of the International Criminal Police Commission in 1923 and worked until the beginning of World War II. In 1946 the old members of the ICPC which had been disrupted by the war met in Belgium to revive the organization. In 1956 it was renamed the "International Criminal Police Organization-Interpol". The general aims of Interpol are defined in its Constitution. The combating of International criminals within the limits of laws existing in different countries is divided into three distinct activities: the exchange of police information, the identification of wanted or suspected by the police, the arrest of those who are wanted.

1. Look through the text and summarize it into 4 paragraphs.

2. Give the title to each paragraph, prove your choice.

3. Retell the text, giving your own opinion according to the theme of the text.

1. Writing practice

Write a formal letter to the chief of the International Criminal Police Organization giving your own characteristic of the work of this organization, express your views and ideas.

Read the following jokes and act them out in groups of three or four. Continue them if you want.

***

The presiding judge leans towards one of the other judges and says to him in his ear:

"This case must be held behind closed doors." "Why?" "Because from that door there's a curse draught."

"I warn you," says the presiding judge solemnly, "that demon­strations of any kind are prohibited; therefore whoever shouts 'Long live! Hurrah!' or 'Down with!' will be sent outside."

The accused from his cage begins to shout: "Hurrah! Down with! Hurrah! Down with!"

Text 8

The American political scene gives a variety of democ

ratic and rightist organizations and today the United

States faces new attacks by the extremist movement.

Read the text about one of the most numerous ex

treme right organizations of the USA, Ku-Klux-Klan

that dates back from the Civil War. Say what methods

are used by it to fight any liberal movement.

KU-KLUX-KLAN

The Klan, a violently racist organization, was founded twice. The first Klan which was marked by a deep hatred of Blacks and unre­strained terror against them was founded in Tennessee in 1865. At the end of the American Civil War, a group of defeated Confederate soldiers formed their secret society with its weird rituals, its white sheets and hoods, which in two years time had grown into the "Invisible Empire of the South". The Klan's bloodstained record constitutes one of the ugliest chapters in the annals of American history. With the appearance of this organization the terror against Blacks assumed a particularly large scope. Tortures and lynching burnings were quite common methods of dealing with the newly emancipated Negroes of the South, who had fought for their freedom.

By 1871 the wave of lynchings alarmed the nation. US Congress passed anti-Klan legislation, many were arrested and the Klan activity died down. In 1915 it was reestablished under the leadership of a Colonel Simmons as a "high-class mystic, social and patriotic society devoted to the protection of White womanhood and the supremacy of White Protestants". Simply speaking, that meant that Jews and Catholics were now the target, as well as Negroes and the rapidly growing Labour movement. Ku-Klux-Klan became one of the most powerful organizations in the USA, and began to fight all liberal influences and movements of the left.

In the 1920s the Klan grew to immense size, even organizing mass, hooded parades through Washington, but then declined again in the 1930s to revive in postwar years, when the Klan became active again. By the mid-1970s, the Klan had gained somewhat in respectability.

Acknowledged Klan leaders ran for public office in the South, amassing sizable numbers of votes. A former grand wizard of the Klan, David Duke, was elected to the Louisiana House of Representatives in 1989. A resurgence of Klan violence occurred in the late 1970s, and in 1980 a Klan office opened in Toronto, Canada. The total membership was estimated at about 5,000 at the end of the 1980s.

1. Look through the text, read the first paragraph of the text and say how the KU-KLUX-KLAN organized the terror against the Blacks.

2. Look through the rest of the text and point out the sentences describing the changes of the KU-KLUX-KLAN orientation/

3. on the basis of the text try to explain:

• why the KU-KLUX-KLAN was founded twice;

• why the KU-KLUX-KLAN is considered to be a permanent figure on the American political scene.

1. Pre-reading questions:

1. Are legal laws common for the people of all the ranks in our country? In foreign countries?

2. St. Petersburg was to host the sum­mit of the Group of Eight leading industrialized nations in July. "The killing of foreigners was engineered by people who tried to discredit the city ahead of the summit. We know the perpetrators, said St. Petersburg Governor Valentina Matviyenko. Do you agree with her? Prove your point of view.

Text 9

Extremist Gang Busted for Racist Murders in St. Petersburg

By Oleg Liakhovich

The Moscow News

Prosecutors in St. Petersburg announced Wednesday they had detained eight members of an extremist group suspected of racist murders, including the shooting of a Senegalese student outside a nightclub, AP reported.

All the detainees are 22 years old and from St. Petersburg, Leningrad region. Two are students, one is a security guard, one an odd-job man and one a jobless man. The eight detained belonged to the extremist organization Mad Crowd, suspected of killing Nikolai Girenko, a leading expert in inter-ethnic relations, and Senegalese student Lamzar Samba, the city prosecutor's spokesperson Yelena Ordynskaya said.

Samba was shot dead outside a nightclub in April. Police found a gun with a swastika at the scene of the murder, which prompted protests against a slew of suspected race-hate killings and incidents. Girenko was killed in St. Petersburg in June 2004 in what many believe was retaliation for his studies of neo-Nazi and racist groups. The spokeswoman said prosecutors were also checking the group for possible involvement in the death of a 9-year-old Tajik girl stabbed in 2004.

City Prosecutor Sergei Zaitsev said earlier that six guns, three kilograms of TNT and extremist literature had been found during searches of the suspected extremists' abodes.

He also said the gang had been involved in the killing of a Korean national in 2003 and a senior official at the local anthropology and ethnography museum, who was shot several times when he answered his apartment door in June 2004.

"This was the most aggressive group intent on murdering people. They were actively getting weapons and planning their actions," RIA Novosti quoted Zaitsev as saying.

During searches, police found six firearms, TNT and extremist literature, the RIA Novosti news agency said. Dmitry Borovikov, an alleged top member of the extremist orga­nization, was killed by police on May 19 as he resisted arrest, RIA Novosti said.

Russia has seen a marked rise in attacks on migrants, foreigners and Jews, particularly in St. Petersburg, the country's second largest city. Fourteen people have been killed in racial attacks this year, statistics show. Prosecutions are rare, with many hate crimes treated as hooliganism, an offense that brings only light sentences.

St. Petersburg is to host the summit of the Group of Eight leading industrialized nations in July.

"The crimes were engineered by people who tried to discredit the city ahead of the summit. We know the perpetrators," said St. Petersburg Governor Valentina Matviyenko. "The traces apparentlylead to Moscow." MN

Text 10

U.S. Demands Russian Diplomat Stand Trial for Drunk

A Russian diplomat that hit a New York police officer while allegedly driving drunk has been sent to Moscow after U.S. officials demanded Russia revoke his immunity so that he could stand trial for drunk driving.

Ilya Morozov, a diplomat with the UN Russian mission, was driving a Toyota Corolla down East 108th Street towards the FDR Drive late Saturday evening. Encountering construction, he swerved to avoid traffic cones and hit a police officer who was directing traffic and who tried to stop him. The officer was taken to a hospital with knee injuries.

Morozov, who worked for the Permanent Mission of the Russian Federation to the United Nations, was immediately arrested. "Mr. Morozov has not received any charges in hitting a policeman," AP quoted the mission's press secretary as saying on Sunday. Morozov instead was given seven desk appearance tickets citing him for speeding in a posted work zone, driving while ability-impaired by alcohol, failing to use a designated lane, operating a motor vehicle on the sidewalk, operating a motor vehicle on the shoulder, improperly entering from a controlled highway and failing to comply with a lawful order by a police officer.

According to police statements cited by New York media, Morozov had alcohol on his breath when he was brought into the police station but refused to take a Breathalyzer test. Because he had immunity, he could not be forced, and was taken home by the end of the day.

The incident, however, threatened to evolve into a scandal when New York authorities and high-placed officials demanded an investigation.

U.S. ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton demanded in a public letter that Morozov be tried. "Should the Russian Federation not agree to a waiver of Mr. Morozov's immunity, Mr. Morozov will be required to depart the United States for having abused the privilege of residence here," U.S. news agencies quoted the letter, addressed to New York City's U.N. liaison, as saying. Bolton listed "felony, assault on a police officer and operating a vehicle with abilities impaired by alcohol" among the "serious charges" that Morozov should be tried for. Similar demands were made by New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

Russian representatives initially denied the allegations and insisted on Morozov's immunity. "After representatives in Russia's UN mission received the requests from the U.S. mission, the Russian side confirms attache Morozov's status of immunity," Itar-Tass quoted Maria Zakharova's, the Russian mission's press secretary, as saying. Citing the Vienna Convention of 1961, she added that Russia will address the issue after a careful investigation of the incident and the necessary documents from U.S. authorities."

On Thursday, Morozov flew to Moscow while the investigation continues. His status as diplomat has not yet been revoked. MN

1. Work in groups of three or four and discuss the newspaper articles given bellow.

Choose any article, make up the dialogue based on it and act it out.

3. Writing practice.

Do the library research and write an essay on any theme given bellow:

1. “International Court of Justice”

2. “The Federal Judiciary in the U.S.”

3. “Justice and Law in the United Kingdom”

4. “Development of the English Law in Australia and New Zealand”

1. Pairwork

1. Choose the Court system you want to speak about using the information given in the texts.

2. Make a scheme of this Court system. Make use of the following court terms.

Court division, the number of judges, district courts, civil and criminal cases, Justices of the Peace (JPs), Magistrates' Court, prosecution, defense, customs and traditions in jurisdiction, solicitors, barristers, the jury, attorneys, judges.

3. Discuss your choice with a partner and support it with some data.

5. Translate into English and comment on the following.

- Вина голову клонит.

- Вор вора всегда узнает.

- Вор вором губится.

- Где кража там и вор. (Нет дыма без огня.)

- Вор у вора дубинку украл.