Unit 4. In the courtroom

Text 1: Read the following text and write down Russian equivalents for the words and expressions in bold type:

The number of the days you work as a juror and your working hours depend on the jury selection system in the county in which you live. Working hours may also be varied by the judge to accommodate witnesses coming from out of town or for other reasons.

Regardless of the length of your working day, one thing that may strike you is the amount of waiting. For example, you may have to wait a long while before you are called for a jury panel. You also may be kept waiting in the jury room during trial while the judge and the lawyers settle a question of law that has come up.

This waiting may seem like a waste of time to you and also may make it seem as if the court system isn't working very well. In reality, however, there are good reasons for the waiting you do both before and during trial.

Your having to wait before trial is important for the efficient operation of the system. Because there are many cases to be heard and because trials are expensive, judges encourage people to come to an agreement in their case before trial. These agreements, called settlements, can occur at any time, even a few minutes before the trial is scheduled to begin. This means that it is impossible to know exactly how many trials there will be on a particular day or when they will start. Jurors are kept waiting, therefore, so that they are immediately available for the next case that goes to trial.

Your waiting during trial helps assure the fairness of the proceedings. You will remember that the jurors decide the facts and that the judge decides the law. If you are sent out of the courtroom during trial, it is probably because a legal issue has come up that must be decided before more evidence can be presented to you. You are sent out because the judge decides that you should not hear the discussion about the law, because it might interfere with your ability to decide the facts in an impartial way. Sometimes the judge will explain why you were sent out, but sometimes he may not be able to do so. Please be assured, however, that these delays during trial, explained or not, are important to the fairness of the trial.

In any case, judges and personnel do whatever they can to minimize the waiting before and during trial. Your understanding is appreciated.

Exercise 1: Find in the text the English equivalents for the following words and expressions:

1. судебный секретарь

2. вещественное доказательство

3. вести магнитофонную запись

4. судебный пристав

5. протоколист суда

Courtroom Personnel

In addition to the lawyers and the judge, three other people will play an important role in the trial. The court reporter, who sits close to the witnesses and the judge, puts down every word that is spoken during the trial and also may record the proceedings on tape. The clerk, who sits right below the judge, keeps track of all documents and exhibits and notes down important events in the trial. The bailiff helps to keep the trial running smoothly. The jury is in the custody of the bailiff, who sees to the jurors comfort and convenience and helps them if they are having any problems related to jury service.

Exercise 2: Look at the picture of an American courtroom. Match the numbers in the picture with the words below:

□ jury □ witness stand

□ court reporter □ prosecuting attorney

□ judge □ bailiff

□ defendant □ jury box

□ defense attorney □ judge's bench

□ witness □ courtroom

Exercise 3: Read the letter of the inmate of San Quentin Prison (USA). Using the picture above, explain why the courtroom layout is described as unfavourable for the defendant in the text:

A View From Behind Bars

I want to talk about the way that courtrooms are laid out. I think that by their design, it already puts the defendant at a disadvantage when he goes to trial. Maybe you think that it is ridiculous to claim that the way a courtroom is laid out has an impact on a trial, but let me explain.

When you walk into a courtroom in California, the floorplan is basically the same as any other. Since most people have seen at least one trial on TV, you can probably visualize what I am describing. If you sit in the jury box and look out over the courtroom, here is what you will see. Closest to the jury is a witness stand where the witnesses sit when they testify. On the other side of the witness stand is the Judge's Bench sitting high above everything else, so as to give an air of authority. Facing the Bench and witness stand are the tables where the prosecutor and defense sit during the course of the trial. In between the prosecutor and defense table is a podium that the lawyers stand at when they address the court and the jury. Sitting closest to the jury box is always the prosecutor's table, then the podium, and on the other side of that is the defense table. The person on trial is as far away from the jury as it is possible. When I was on trial, I couldn't even see half of the jury, unless I leaned out over the table to look at them. So, this set-up seems to make the person on trial distant, and not even a real part of the proceedings, which in my opinion, makes it easier for the jury to depersonalize you when you are on trial. Meanwhile, the prosecutor is damned near sitting in the jury's lap all through the trial and the jury has the tendency to relate with the prosecutor a lot easier. This might sound like a trivial thing, but consider this. A witness for the defense is on the witness stand and giving his or her testimony, but all through the witness's testimony, the prosecutor is sitting right next to the jury and reacting to everything the witness says by facial expressions and body language. And, if you are saying that this doesn't have an impact on a jury, then you are very naive... or a prosecutor.

Exercise 4: Translate the following definitions in writing:

CASE — any proceeding, action, cause, lawsuit or controversy initiated through the court system by filing a complaint, petition or information.

WITNESS — a person who testifies under, oath in court regarding what was seen, heard or otherwise observed.

TRIAL — the presentation of evidence in court to a trier of facts who applies the applicable law to those facts and then decides the case.

EVIDENCE — a form of proof legally presented at a trial through witnesses, records, documents, etc.

Text 2: Read and translate the text: