II. COMPREHENSION

1. A. Answer the following questions using the information from the text:

1. What is the starting point of the criminal process?

2. What does ‘booking a suspect’ include?

3. What is a complaint?

4. What is the defendant informed of at ‘first appearance’?

5. What does the judge decide at preliminary hearing?

6. What is the role of the jury at different stages of criminal process?

7. At which stage(s) does the defendant plead?

8. What does a trial determine?

9. What is ‘appeal’?

 

B. Give the definitions for the following terms and expressions or explain them in other words:

- to release / free on bail;

- trial;

- sentence;

- to book a suspect;

- to charge;

- to convict;

- to acquit

- plea;

- information.

 

2. Complete the following sentences according to the information from the text:

1. After arrest the suspect is usually taken ….

2. Booking means recording all the information about the suspect, ….

3. The suspect may be released on bail or freed on….

4. While the suspect is waiting in jail, the police reports are passed on to the prosecutor for….

5. The prosecutor presents some evidence to the grand jury and the grand jury is to….

6. If the defendant pleads guilty he is….

7. A person is called convicted after….

8. Trial is a stage of a criminal process when…

9. ‘A person is acquitted’ means that a person is found…by….

3. Use the information from the text and choose the right item to complete the sentences:

1. In fact the criminal process starts from the

a) preliminary hearing;

b) crime reported;

c) booking a suspect.

2. When a suspect is fingerprinted and photographed it means that a suspect is

a) interrogated;

b) booked;

c) charged.

3. A formal charging document by the grand jury describing the crime of which the defendant is accused is called

a) information;

b) charge;

c) indictment.

4. After the defendant is charged with a specific crime he is asked to

a) plead charges;

b) to accept charges;

c) to listen to the sentence.

5. A person may be convicted either by a judge or by his

a) a juror;

b) plea;

c) the prosecutor.

4. Draw up a scheme of a criminal justice process giving your own names of criminal procedure stages and starting with the following:

1. crime reported

16.

…

5. In Ex.4 you were to draw up a scheme of criminal procedure. In this test we will look at what happens at each typical stage. Read the definitions below and name the steps of criminal procedure:

a) the police free the person alleged to have committed the crime on condition that the accused appears at court at a future date;

b) the police arrest the person who is alleged to have committed a crime;

c) the police carry out a detailed enquiry into the alleged crime;

d) the police receive information that a crime may have been committed;

e) the accused comes to court to face charges;

f) the defendant is found not guilty of the charge;

g) the defendant is found guilty and convicted of a crime;

h) the defendant pleads guilty;

i) the defendant swears that he is innocent;

j) the judge decides punishment;

k) the accused is detained and stays in jail;

l) the accused is taken into custody, and all relevant information about him is recorded;

m) a jury or prosecutor issues a formal charging document describing the crime of which the defendant is accused;

n) the determination of an accused person’s guilt or innocence after hearing evidence for the prosecution and for the accused and the judicial examination of the issues involved.

6. Fill in the table with the words or sentences that can go with the following the stages of criminal procedure:

Bail	Trial	Crime Reported	Appeal	arrest	Preliminary hearing