Unit IV

Pre-reading task

Look at the list of crimes. Most of them are familiar to you. Match the crimes to their definitions.

1) arson, 2) assassination, 3) bigamy, 4) blackmail, 5) bribery,

6) embezzlement, 7) extortion, 8) forgery, 9) fraud, 10) manslaughter, 11) perjury, 12) smuggling, 13) assault.

a) getting money from people by threatening to publicize facts

they do not want revealed;

b) getting money from people by using threats;

c) getting property or money from people by making them

believe untrue things;

d) going through a ceremony of marriage when you are still

married to someone else;

e) killing a public figure illegally and intentionally;

f) killing someone unintentionally or in mitigating

circumstances;

g) making an illegal copy of a banknote or document;

h) offering money corruptly to get someone to do something to help you;

i) setting fire to a building;

j) taking goods illegally into or out of a country;

k) telling lies when you have sworn an oath to say what is true

in court;

l) using illegally or stealing money which you are looking after for someone else;

m) acting in such a way as to make someone believe he or she will be hurt.

Task 1. Read the text to understand what information is of primary importance or new for you.

Criminal law

Criminal Law is the body of law that defines criminal offences, regulates the apprehension, charging, and trial of suspected persons, and fixes punishment for convicted offenders.

The term criminal law, sometimes called penal law, refers to any of various bodies of rules in different jurisdictions whose common characteristic is the potential for unique and often severe imposition of punishment for failure to comply with them. Criminal punishment, depending on the offense and jurisdiction, may include execution, loss of liberty, government supervision (parole or probation), or fines. Criminal law typically is enforced by the government, unlike the civil law, which may be enforced by private parties.

Five objectives are widely accepted for enforcement of the criminal law by punishments: retribution, deterrence, incapacitation, rehabilitation and restitution. Criminal law usually prohibits the trial of a person a second time for the same offence (double jeopardy)

A crime is usually defined as a voluntary act or omission, in conjunction with a given state of mind. Acts committed during fits of epilepsy or while sleepwalking are involuntary and thus are not determined as crimes. Mental disorders are also widely recognized as limiting responsibility for acts otherwise regarded as criminal.

Criminal acts include arson, rape, treason, aggravated assault, theft, burglary, robbery, and murder. Another concern of criminal law is conspiracy, a rather broad term that means agreement between two or more individuals to commit a crime, an attempt. The definition of attempt varies from one legal system to another, but essentially it is preparation for criminal action that has gone beyond a legally defined point.

Important differences exist between the criminal law of most English-speaking countries and that of other countries. The criminal law of England and the United States derives from the traditional English common law of crimes and has its origins in the judicial decisions embodied in reports of decided cases.

The criminal law of the United States, derived from the English common law, has been adapted in some respects to American conditions. In the majority of the U.S. states the common law of crimes has been repealed by legislation. The effect of such statutes is that no person may be tried for any offence that is not specified in the statutory law of the state.

In Europe the criminal law of modern times has emerged from various codifications. The most important were the two Napoleonic codes of 1808 and 1810. The German codes of 1871 (penal code) and 1877 (procedure) provided the models for other European countries.

Task 2. Find in the text above the English equivalents for the following words and expressions. Memorize them. Use them in the context of your own.

психічні захворювання, бездіяльність, злочинний намір, свідома дія, державна зрада, ризик нести кримінальну відповідальність двічі за один й тей самий злочин, психічний стан, лунатизм, сукупність правових норм, напад за обтяжуючих обставин, призначення покарання, обмеження в правах.

Task 3. Give the Ukrainian equivalents for:

body of law, imposition of punishment, government supervision, to be enforced by, to be repealed by legislation, specified in the statutory law, to emerge from, involuntary act, to embody, penal law, to be widely recognized, trial of suspected persons, convicted offenders, voluntary act or omission, mental disorders, beyond a legally defined point.

Task 4. Answer the following questions:

1) What is criminal law?

2) What is double jeopardy?

3) What criminal codes provided the model for many European countries?

4) What do criminal acts include?

5) What is the difference between the criminal law of most English-speaking countries and that of other countries?

Task 5. Complete the text with the words and expressions given below. Make up the summary of the text.

Murder, criminal offence, negligence, actor, omission, guilty state of mind, guilty act, prohibited act, crime

In most jurisdictions two things are required for a _____ ____. First, there must be an act or conduct prohibited by law, or a failure to do some duty required by law. This is called the “actus reus”, or guilty act. Second, at the time of the act, conduct or_______ the actor must have a certain ________ _______ _______, called the “mens rea”. For example, a person might cause another’s death. Causing the death of another person is the guilty act involved in the crime of _______. However, accidentally causing the death of another person is not a murder. The ________did not have the required guilty state of mind. Purposely causing the death of another person is murder because ______ (causing the death) and the guilty state of mind (the purpose or intent) coincide. As another example, a person might actually plan to steal, and therefore have a guilty mind. However, such a person has not committed a crime until he or she actually takes something while having a guilty mind.

Common law defines four types or degrees of guilty mind or culpable mental states. These are purpose, knowledge, recklessness, and _______. With a few exceptions, at least one of these culpable mental states must be present when a person does a prohibited act. The________ ________or omission is not a _____ if one or more of the culpable mental states are not present.

Task 6. Study the following case and decide what crimes the students have committed. What punishment do they face according to the criminal law of Ukraine?

Five male university students (Abe, Bob, Chris, Dan and Edward) were on Spring Break. They met a young woman named Mary who they lured back to their hotel room. The guys made repeated sexual advances to Mary. She rebuffed the sexual advances from all of the students except for Dan. Mary said she would have sex with Dan but not with the others.

Abe said, "If Mary isn't willing to have sex with all of us, then we'll have to force her. Are you guys with me?" Bob nodded his assent. Chris, Dan and Edward just stood there and did not respond. Mary objected and said she wanted to leave. Abe locked the door so Mary couldn't get out.

Bob suddenly had a change of heart and said, "I'm not going to go through with it, and I think all of you should stop as well." At that point, Bob left the hotel room and went to his own room, but didn't do anything further.

Abe then forcibly held Mary down and proceeded to have intercourse. Chris, who was very drunk, then said "I'm going to force her to have sex with me too." He took his clothes off and got up on the bed. However, before he actually had intercourse with Mary, Chris passed out from the alcohol. In relief that she wouldn't be forced to have sex again, Mary passed out.

Dan decided that since Mary had said she wanted to have sex with him, it was OK and he proceeded to have sexual intercourse with the unconscious Mary. After Dan had sex with Mary, Mary woke up and started screaming. Afraid that someone would hear the screaming Mary, Abe choked her until she was dead. Edward just watched the whole time and said and did nothing.

After Mary died, Abe, Chris and Dan went to Bob's bedroom. Edward went back to his bedroom and did nothing. Abe, Chris and Dan told Bob everything that had happened. Bob said that Abe, Chris and Dan could spend the night in his room so that they wouldn't be found with the dead body. The next morning, the police found Mary and arrested all five students.

Task 7. Below there are some statements made by defendants. Read the statements and say what crime has each one been accused of.

1. “I arrived home late and found that I’d forgotten my keys. I didn’t want to wake my wife up, and I saw there was a ladder and climbed in. We’ve just moved house and I didn’t realize I was in the wrong street…

2. “I was walking my dog when I saw the gun lying on the ground. I picked it up – it was still warm – and at that moment I saw the body lying in the long grass. I went across to look and it was my business partner. That’s when the police arrived…

3. “I opened the bank account in a false name as a way to help my employer pay less tax ─ it’s perfectly legal. I kept meaning to tell him, but somehow I just forgot. I bought the villa in France with my own money. It was an inheritance…

4. “You misunderstand me. When I offered him the money I meant it as a gift. I know that life can be difficult for a young man on a police salary, especially if he has a family, young children etcetera. It isn’t easy and I know that. I just wanted to help. I didn’t expect him to do anything in return…

5. “I painted them for pleasure. I had no intention of deceiving people. I never said they were by other people. Yes, I did include the signature of other artists but that’s because I wanted them to be perfect copies…

6. “Mr Wills sent me the money to help me in my business venture – I’m trying to start a design agency. He sent me cheques every month for $ 1200. A couple of times he sent extra when I had special expenses. It was always understood that he would participate in the profits of the business when it was running. We didn’t write anything down, it was an oral agreement. The photographs I have of him with his secretary have no connection with these payments.

Role play the cases above. Act for: 1) a defendant; 2) a prosecutor; 3) a victim; 4) a defense lawyer

Task 8. Translate the following words and phrases. Use them to translate the text:

to determine criminal offences, prohibited behaviour, intimidation and threat, blackmail, pressure, trespass, alimony avoidance, domestic violence, perjury, resistance while apprehending, criminal attempt.

Закони, які визначають кримінальні злочини, зафіксовані у кодексах штатів, муніципальних постановах та у кодексі США. Загалом ці злочини складають вичерпний кодекс забороненої поведінки.

Види злочинів включають: вбивство, напад або погроза фізичним насильством, залякування з погрозами, викрадання людей, незаконне позбавлення волі, шантаж, примус, зґвалтування та інші сексуальні насильницькі дії, проституція, підпал та інші злочини, що завдають шкоду майну, розбій, крадіжка із зламом, порушення меж власності, крадіжка, підробка, шахрайство, порушення громадського порядку, ухилення від сплати аліментів, насильство у сім’ї, хабарництво, лжесвідчення, чинення опору під час затримання, підкуп, змова, замах на злочин та співучасть у злочині, рекетирство та корупційна діяльність, розповсюдження наркотиків та ін.

UNIT V

Pre-reading task

Discuss the following questions:

1. What problems are there for the law in defining and stopping hacking?

2. What problems are there in balancing freedom of expression and censorship in the Internet?

Task 1. Read the text to understand what information is of primary importance or new for you.