justice-version2023

The judge The defence lawer
Member of the jury
A witness The plaintiff The accused
2 Watch this clip about Bristol Crown Court. Answer the questions.
1 Who is the target audience of this video?
Witnesses who have to attend to a courtroom.
2 What differences did you notice between the two courtrooms?

3 Read the text. Make an inventory of what terminology differs between British and American English.
How different is a trial in a British versus an American

courtroom?
Fundamentally, the British and American legal system are very similar, but there are differences in
terminology and procedures. This similarity should not surprise anyone, because, as British colonies, there
was a tendency in America during the 18th century to actively copy the culture and institutions of the
‘Mother Country’. The basic principles that were adopted in America were based on the British adversarial
system, which means prosecutors or plaintiffs versus defendants in front of an impartial judge or jury. If
the judge agrees that the defendant has wronged the plaintiff, some form of compensation will need to be
paid. If not, the defendant will be acquitted.
One interesting difference is the location of the plaintiff.

In the British system, the defendant is isolated from the
rest and needs to sit alone ‘in the dock’, while the
counsel for the defence sits closer to the judge. In
America, the accused sit next to their lawyer(s). This
seems to indicate a much closer relationship between
the defendants and their representatives in the American
tradition. The fact that British judges and barristers still
wear robes and wigs seems to underline how the people involved in the legal system keep their distance
from the actual people involved. In the US, only the judge still wears a robe; the lawyers do not. In both
countries, a special degree is required to argue a case in front of a judge. Only solicitors in the UK or
lawyers in the US who ‘pass the bar’ are allowed to do so and receive the title of barrister in the UK. The US
uses no such title.
On both sides of the Atlantic, different types of courts deal with different matters. Cases that revolve
around property, family law or minor offences (spelled offenses in Am. English) appear in front of a single
judge, usually called a magistrate in the UK. If you are unhappy with the outcome of your trial, you appeal
the verdict in a higher court (with the Supreme Court being the final court of appeal both in the UK and the
US).
Criminal cases that involve very serious crimes such as murder

or rape are tried in front of a jury. Twelve members of the
public listen to all the facts, weigh the evidence and
deliberate until a unanimous verdict of ‘guilty’ or ‘not guilty’
is reached. In these cases, the victim (who might be dead)
is represented by the district attorney, who presents the
case for the prosecution on behalf of the state in the US
and by the Crown Prosecution Service in the UK.
The pivotal role of the judge explains their prominent, central location in the courtroom. Even modern
British and American courtrooms usually still put the judge slightly higher than everyone else. This notion
of looking up to the judge is very much a British idea. In the UK, the judge is addressed as ‘ My Lord’ ,
whereas ‘Your Honor’ is used in the US. The judge plays a key role in the proceedings. He or she needs to
make sure the trial proceeds smoothly and fairly, deal with any objections that the prosecution or the
defence (or defense in American English) might raise and in the end determine the sentence in case of a
conviction. Judges can impose anything from a fine of a few hundred dollars to time in prison or even the
death penalty in certain states where capital punishment is
allowed. Judges will always consider if certain mitigating
circumstances should be taken into account in favour of the
defendant. You may feel more sympathy for a shoplifter if you
know his family is desperately poor. If the judge finds these kinds of
extenuating circumstances, the jail term might be suspended, which
means the offender doesn’t need to go to prison as long as they
stay out of trouble.
Witnesses always testify from a location close to the judge. Their location close to this figure of power is
meant to put them at their ease while they are giving evidence. They might be pointing the finger at some
very dangerous people.
One notable difference is the concept of plea-bargaining. In the US, over 90% of criminal cases do not
require a full trial. The district attorney and the defense team have worked out a deal: in return for the
defendant pleading guilty at the start of the trial, the DA will charge them with a lesser crime
(manslaughter instead of murder for instance) or ask for a shorter prison sentence). Such bargaining is not
officially part of the system in England and Wales, except in complex fraud cases, but the judicial
sentencing guidelines suggest those who plead guilty at the earliest hearing over other crimes may be
given a reduction of up to a third of their sentence.
Inventory of the terminology differences between British and American English:
- British: "solicitor”; American: "lawyer"
- British: "barrister”; American: no equivalent title
- British: "magistrate”; American: "judge"
- British: "My Lord”; American: "Your Honor"
- British: "defence”; American: "defense"
- British: "offences”; American: "offenses"
- British: "Crown Prosecution Service”; American: "district attorney"
- British: "jail term”; American: "prison sentence"
- British: "extenuating circumstances”; American: "mitigating circumstances"
4 Scan the text for the legal term that fits this description.
1. the lawyers in a court case 10.to express that you disapprove of

representing the side accusing something that was said or done in court
someone of committing a crime
2. not supporting any of the sides 11.an official decision in a law court stating
involved in an argument someone is guilty of a particular crime
3. an amount of money paid to sb. in 12.an amount of money that has to be paid
exchange for something that has been lost as a punishment for not obeying the law
or damaged
4. to decide officially in a law court that 13.execution, as ordered by a legal system
sb. is not guilty of a particular crime
5. a type of lawyer in the UK who can 14.elements causing you to judge a crime to
plead in front of a judge in higher be less serious, or to make a punishment
courts less severe
6. one or more reasons for believing that 15.a prison sentence, that will not be carried
something is or is not true out if they do not do anything else illegal
within a particular period
7. to think carefully about something 16.an agreement to allow sb. accused of a

crime to admit to being guilty of a less
serious crime, in order to avoid being tried
for the more serious one
8. a decision at the end of a trial that all 17.to state officially that you are guilty of the
jurors agreed on charges brought against you
9. a lawyer representing the government in 18.a formal statement saying that someone
a particular area of the US is accused of a crime
1. Prosecutor 10. Objection

2. Neutral 11. Conviction
3. Compensation 12. Fine
4. Acquit 13. Capital punishment
5. Barrister 14. Mitigating circumstances
6. Evidence 15. Suspended sentence
7. Consider 16. Plea bargain
8. Verdict 17. Confess
9. District Attorney 18. Indictment
5 Complete this table with the corresponding verb or noun from the previous exercises.
1. to accuse someone of a crime an acquittal
2. to convict someone of a crime a conviction
3. to plead guilty or not guilty to enter a plea of guilty or not guilty
4. to object to something to raise an objection
5. to testify the testimony of a witness
6. to fine someone a certain amount to give someone a fine
7. to try someone for a crime a trial
8. to charge someone with a crime to bring charges against someone
6 Complete these newspaper snippets with the correct legal term.

1
Today marked day two of the Thomas H trial. The prosecution called two
[1] witnesses who testified that they had seen Thomas H. in the vicinity of
2
the factory just before the fire alarm sounded. The defence argued that
their client should be acquitted because the prosecution had failed to
provide sufficient [2] evidence that could place their client at the scene of
3
the arson.
Politicians are debating whether or not to reintroduce [3] the death

penalty aft0er a series of brutal murders shocked the nation. A
spokesman claimed that ‘an eye for an eye’ was the only proper reaction
4
in the case of cold-blooded homicide. Opponents of the move argued
that a life sentence without the possibility of parole was equally just.
Because the [4] prosecution could not prove that the killer had actually 5
planned to cause the death of his mother, they charges the accused with
manslaughter instead.
Police today [5] charged the teenager with petty theft for stealing money 6
from the football clubs cafeteria. The charges of burglary were dropped
due to a lack of evidence after it was revealed that the backdoor of the
cafeteria was usually left unlocked.
7
Demonstrators outside the courtroom voiced their disappointment about
the [6] acquittal. Even though thousands of people had lost their life
savings when the RSBC was declared bankrupt earlier this year, not a
single board member was convicted of fraud. 8
Human rights activists are urging politicians to change the [7] laws on
human trafficking so that the customs officers who accept thousands of 9
dollars in bribes in return for not checking lorries that cross the border
could be imprisoned for corruption. Bank accounts should also be easier 10
to check for officers who are investigating charges of bribery.
The journalist was [8] acquitted on the charges of slander for his tweets
about the President’s IQ. The court agreed that he was simply voicing his
opinion based on the available evidence.
Victims of crime often [9] object to the fact that suspects are released on
bail while waiting for their trial. The cold hard reality is that our [10]
prisons are so overcrowded that there simply aren’t enough cells to hold
everyone, even if we put three people in a cell.
7 Find the term in the newspaper snippets for these terms.
1. setting fire to a building Arson
2. breaking into a building Burglary
3. the act of stealing something of little value Petty theft
4. deliberately causing someone’s death Homicide
5. killing a person unintentionally Manslaughter
6. dishonest behaviour by people in power Fraud
7. offering money to persuade a person to do what you Bribery

want
8. making spoken statements that damage someone’s Slander

reputation, as opposed to libel which is for written
statements
9. permission for a prisoner to be released before their Bail

period in prison is finished, with the agreement that
they will behave well
10.an amount of money that a person who’s been Bail Bond

accused of a crime pays to a law court so that they
can be released until their trial
8 Watch a clip from the classic courtroom drama Twelve Angry Men.
Take notes about these aspects of the case.
 The type of case being tried
 The penalty that the accused faces if he is found guilty²²²
 The profile of the accused
 The identity/condition of the victim
 Time and location of the crime
 Key pieces of evidence presented by the prosecution
 The alibi presented by the defense
 The motive according to the prosecution

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The judge The defence lawer

Member of the jury

A witness The plaintiff The accused

2 What differences did you notice between the two courtrooms?

How different is a trial in a British versus an American

One interesting difference is the location of the plaintiff.

Criminal cases that involve very serious crimes such as murder

1. the lawyers in a court case 10.to express that you disapprove of

7. to think carefully about something 16.an agreement to allow sb. accused of a

1. Prosecutor 10. Objection

1. to accuse someone of a crime an acquittal

2. to convict someone of a crime a conviction

3. to plead guilty or not guilty to enter a plea of guilty or not guilty

4. to object to something to raise an objection

5. to testify the testimony of a witness

6. to fine someone a certain amount to give someone a fine

7. to try someone for a crime a trial

8. to charge someone with a crime to bring charges against someone

6 Complete these newspaper snippets with the correct legal term.

Politicians are debating whether or not to reintroduce [3] the death

1. setting fire to a building Arson

2. breaking into a building Burglary

3. the act of stealing something of little value Petty theft

4. deliberately causing someone’s death Homicide

5. killing a person unintentionally Manslaughter

6. dishonest behaviour by people in power Fraud

7. offering money to persuade a person to do what you Bribery

8. making spoken statements that damage someone’s Slander

9. permission for a prisoner to be released before their Bail

10.an amount of money that a person who’s been Bail Bond

 The penalty that the accused faces if he is found guilty²²²

 The profile of the accused

 The identity/condition of the victim

 Time and location of the crime

 Key pieces of evidence presented by the prosecution

 The alibi presented by the defense

 The motive according to the prosecution

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