Text e Crime in Modern Society

Civilized societies have created various systems of defending an individual from violence. The police of any country should protect the citizens, their homes and property.

Some crimes, however, are considered more serious than others. For example, in the United States, those, who commit the crime of treasons are usually punished by life imprisonment or death.

If such offenders are caught by the police, they still have the right to be defended by a lawyer in court. As a rule, the police and investigators do their best to provide the court with meaningful evidence.

In the United States, anyone accused of a crime has certain rights that are guaranteed by the Bill of Rights. This document consists of the first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution. For example, everyone has the right to a fair trial or he can keep silent without testifying against himself. Besides, under American law, a person is considered innocent unless he is proved guilty in court.

In modern society, every citizen should be aware of the legislation in force as well as of his or her right under the law.

Vocabulary

accused of a crime обвиняемый в преступлении

car theft n угон автомобиля

defend v защищать

fair trial n справедливый суд

frustration n 1 крушение (планов, надежд); 2 разочарование

greed n алчность, жадность

in force действующий (о правовой норме)

innocent adj невиновный

investigator n следователь

jealousy n ревность

meaningful adj содержательный

reasons for crime n причины (мотивы, основания) преступления

scholar n ученый

testify v свидетельствовать

violence n насилие

Reading tasks

A Answer these questions.

1 What are the functions of the police of any country?

2 What are the reasons for crimes?

3 Does everybody have the right to be defended by a lawyer in the court

irrespective of the kind of a crime?

4 What does the Bill of Rights guarantee anyone accused of a crime?

5 In your opinion why is crime rate practically increasing all over the world?

Unit 23 Torts Text a Classification of Torts

A tort is a private wrong, a trespass against a person or his/her property for which a damages award or other judicial remedy may be sought. Most torts arise from either an intentional, wrongful action or from a negligent action. Many torts are also crimes, and most crimes involve tortious acts. Thus a single action may result in two trials: a criminal trial and a tort (civil) trial.

Suppose a workman accidentally drops a brick on my head when I am walking past a construction site, or suppose a neighbour's bonfire gets out of control and damages my house. In either case, there is no contract between me and the other party and it is unlikely anyone will be prosecuted for a crime unless intention or recklessness can be shown. In order to get compensation for such injury or damage, my best course will probably be an action in the law of torts.

There are two chief categoies of torts: intentional torts and torts resulting from negligence.

● Intentional torts

To constitute an intentional tort, the defendant’s act must be expressly or implicitly intended; the resulting harm need not be intended, but must have been reasonably foreseeable. Examples of intentional torts are assault and battery, false imprisonment, slander, and invasion of privacy.

Intentional torts fall info two categories: torts against a person and torts against property.

• Negligence

Negligence refers to the failure of a person to exercise sufficient care in his or her conduct. When a person’s conduct falls below the reasonable expectation of society and causes foreseeable harm to another, the person has acted negligently. Society’s expect known in torts based on negligence as the legal duty of care – is that an individual reasonably prudent and careful person would act in similar circumstances. A person can act negligently by doing something that a reasonable person would not do or by failing something that a reasonable person would do. The law does not require that the person has an intent to cause harm.

In a tort case arising out of negligence, the plaintiff must show four things: (a) there was a duty imposed on the defendant in favour of the plaintiff, (b) the defendant breach (violated) that duty, (c) the breach was the proximate (natural and foreseeable) cause of the harm, and (d) plaintiff suffered damages.