Witnesses

A witness is called a person who has seen or has some personal knowledge of a thing or crime which he can testify in the court.

The attendance of witnesses is secured by means of a writ called a writ or "sub poena" or, sometimes, a summons. It is issued either from the court or by some public officer, and is addressed to the witness, commanding him to appear before the court on a day named in the writ to testify in such and such a case, "under a penalty" if he disobeys. If the witness falls to appear, a second writ, called a "capias", is issued from the court, directed to some officer, and commanding him to "take the body" of the witness and bring him before the court, where he is compelled to testify and is liable to be punished for contempt of the court in disregarding the first summons, unless he can show a good excuse for having done so.

The witness is first sworn to speak the truth, and then is questioned by the party who called him. Afterwards the other party has the right to cross-question him. After the cross-examination a re-direct examination is allowed and after that a second cross-examination. Sometimes still further direct and cross-examinations are had.

If the witness, on account of distance, infirmity or residence out of the jurisdiction of the court, cannot be brought to court, the parties are sometimes allowed to examine him elsewhere; and this testimony is committed to writing and read to the triers at the trial. Such a document is called a deposition.

The witness must testify only to matters of fact. The principal rule regulating the production of this class of evidence is that the witness must testify only to facts with which he is personally acquainted. This has two Branches: First, he must testify only to facts, not to mere matters of opinion. Secondly, the witness must testify to such facts only as he is personally acquainted with, which he knows, to use the common expression "of his own knowledge"; he must not merely repeat what has been told by someone else; which kind of evidence is called "hearsay", and is excluded, except in a few peculiar cases.

Ex.2 Read the text once more and give the Ukrainian equivalents for the given below words and word-combinations:

to testify in the court; under a penalty; a good excuse; to speak the truth; to cross-question somebody; the residence out of the Jurisdiction of the court; to be personally acquainted with; to disobey; a writ; a contempt of the court; a "capias"; the attendance of witnesses; a summons.

Ex.3 Look through the text again and find the English equivalents for the following words and word-:

Повістка; свідок; постати перед судом; понести покарання; допитати; давати свідчення; судовий розгляд; особливий випадок; покарання під присягою; повторна повістка, зневага до суду.

Ex.4 Answer the following questions:

1. What do we call a person who has some personal knowledge of a crime?

2. What do we call the document which is addressed to the witness commanding him to appear before the court?

3. What happens if the witness fails to appear before the court?

4. The witness is first sworn to speak the truth, isn't he?

5. Who has the right to cross-question the witness?

6. What is the principal rule regulating the production of evidence at the trial?

Ex.5 Open the brackets using the right tense form:

1. Where you (to be) just now? I (to wait) for you for 10 minutes. Let’s go to the cinema. We (to be) late.

2. When I (to enter) the house, I (to see) that the old man (to sit) near the fireplace and (to read) the book. He (to sit) there for a long time.

3. What you (to do) now?- I (to translate) an interesting story. – How long you (to translate) it?- I (to work) for seven hours. I (to hope) I (to finish) translating by nine o’clock.

4. The lecture (not yet to begin) and the students (to talk) in the corridor.

5. Last night Beth (to thank) Chris for the lovely flowers which he (to buy) for her.

6. Oh, I (to see) he (to stop) smoking. When he (to decide) not to smoke)?

7. We (to be) in the forest a week ago. We (to hear) how a wild animal (to cry out). It (to get) in a trap.

8. I (to be) nervous at the dentist this morning as it was the first time I (to see) him since August 1998.

9. When I was a child I (not to like) the girl next door. She always (to tease) me and (to fight) with me.

10. Don’t worry! You (to see) your children playing in the yard if you (to look) out of the window.

Ex.6 Translate into English:

1. Ви коли-небудь відпочивали в Криму? – Так. Ми були там минулого літа. Ми провели два незабутніх тижні на березі моря.

2. Де твій брат? – Він тренується у спортивному залі. Він там уже 2 години.

3. Що діти робили, коли ти прийшов додому? – Коли я увійшов до кімнати, я побачив, що вони грають у нову гру. Я купив її для них в Англії.

4. Де твоя сестра? – Вона на кухні. Вона щойно повернулась з інституту і зараз обідає. Після обіду вона збирається піти на виставку сучасного живопису.

5. Я не хочу розмовляти з ним по телефону. Скажіть йому, що я зайнятий. Попросіть його подзвонити завтра.

6. Вони одружились багато років тому і все ще люблять одне одного. Вони одружені з 1977 року.

7. Ви вже бачили виставку картин Ван Гога? – Ні. Але я дуже хочу побачити її. – Ось два квитки на виставку. Якщо ви будете вільні увечері, приходьте в наш музей.

Ex.7 Translate the following sentences into English:

1. Історія права є втіленням досвіду людського суспільства, пам’яткою його мудрості, відображенням звичаїв та традицій. 2. Свідок злочину заявив, що він готовий давати свідчення в суді. 3. Комісія буде розслідувати причини нещасного випадку, приділяючи особливу увагу питанням безпеки. 4. Громадянське суспільство базується на рівності, справедливості й правосудді. 5. Водії дотримуються правил обмеження швидкості руху, тільки коли знають, що поліція поблизу. 6. Саме судова, а не законодавча або виконавча гілки влади є найбільш впливовою інституцією. 7. Одна справа розробляти правила, та зовсім інша – впроваджувати їх.

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