Read the dialogue and act it out with a partner.

DIALOGUE

A.: Welcome to Money Watch. Today’s topic is prenuptial agreement, and with me is Alison Farmer, a lawyer who is an expert in family law.

B.: Good morning.

A.: First of all, what exactly is a prenuptial agreement?

B.: Well, it’s like a divorce contract couples sign before they get married. They agree how they’ll divide up their property and money if they ever get divorced.

A.: Well, don’t most couples just get 50 per cent each of everything they own?

B.: Not usually, no. A prenuptial agreement gives people a chance to decide what to do before they get themselves into that situation.

A.: Can you tell if a prenuptial agreement is a legal guarantee?

B.: Not in the UK, no. People don’t always get what was written in the prenuptial agreement.

A.: Oh, I see. But they are in, you know, places like the USA, aren’t they?

B.: Well, no, actually they’re not. Even in countries where prenuptials are often used in court. Australia and the USA, for example, people can get more or less than it said in the prenuptial agreement.

A.: Can you give an example?

B.: Well, Boris Baker, the famous tennis player, and his wife Barbara Feltus got married in 1993 and split up in the year 2000. When they got married Boris was worth 65 million pounds. According to the prenuptial agreement, Barbara was supposed to get about five million pounds, but she actually got ten million, a one point eight million pound home in Florida and two thousand five hundred pounds a month for their children.

A.: That probably helped her get over the divorce, I would think!

B.: Yes, probably. Steven Spielberg’s ex-wife, Amy Irving, received a hundred million dollars when they split up after only four years.

A.: But if prenuptials aren’t a guarantee, what’s the point of having one? Isn’t it another way for lawyers to make money out of people?

B.: No, not really. If both husband and wife agree to follow the prenuptial agreement when they get divorced then they don’t need a lawyer at all. And when you think you can buy a prenuptial agreement online for £50, it’s actually much cheaper than hiring a divorce lawyer.

A.: OK. Thanks a lot. Good bye.

I. Express your point of view on prenuptial agreements. Work in pairs.

Read the text.

COURT SYSTEM

Each state has its own court system. However, the general pattern is the same in all states.

Local Trial Courts. Local courts are courts of limited jurisdiction *, meaning they handle minor matters, such as misdemeanors and civil actions involving small amounts of money. Justice of the peace courts, also called magistrate’s courts, were the only local courts in the early days of our country. They tried small claims and punished petty crimes in local communities, a function that they still serve today. Minor cases are also heard by traffic courts, police courts, and municipal courts. Special local courts deal with juveniles, family disputes, and small claims.

General Trial Courts. Each county in most states has at least one general trial court, or court of general jurisdiction. These courts, which can be called county court, superior court, court of common pleas, or circuit court, handle criminal and civil cases.

Special Courts. Courts have been established in many states to handle specialized cases. For example, probate courts hear cases involving the property of deceased persons, even if no will exists. Some probate courts also handle adoptions. A number of states have mayor’s courts, in which the mayor judges cases involving traffic violations. Many states also have two other special courts: domestic relations courts and juvenile courts.

Domestic Relations Courts. In most states, each county has a family or domestic relations court to handle divorce, annulment, and dissolution proceedings. The domestic relations court is also responsible for matters concerning distribution of property at the end of a marriage, including alimony and child support.

Juvenile Courts. Juvenile courts have special jurisdiction over delinquent, unruly, abused, or neglected children up to a certain age. Procedures in juvenile courts differ from those in other courts, and hearings are often held in a more informal setting than a courtroom. Young people who appear before a juvenile court have no right to a trial by jury or to be released on bail. However, the Supreme Court has held that there must be proof beyond a reasonable doubt to convict a child as an adult.

Intermediate Appellate Courts. In most instances, intermediate appellate courts hear appeals from courts of general jurisdiction. Appeals may be made to a state intermediate court if the parties believe they did not have a fair trial in the lower court or that the judge did not properly interpret the law. State appellate courts hear appeals only on questions of law, not on questions of fact. Instead of hearing witnesses, appeals judges hear oral arguments from attorneys and study the documents and records in the case.

Supreme Courts. The highest court in most states is known as the Supreme court. A state’s highest court typically decides matters of law appealed from lower courts. Supreme courts don’t retry a case and reconsider the facts. Instead, they decide whether an error in interpreting or applying the law was made in the lower courts. Usually, this court chooses the cases it hears.

*Jurisdiction is the power and authority given to a court to hear acase and to make a judgment. Federal courts have jurisdiction over several types of cases. These cases include the following:

ü Actions in which the United States or one state is a party, except those actions between a state and its citizens

ü Cases that raise a federal question, such as interpreting the Constitution

ü cases, which involve citizens of different states and in which the amount of money in dispute exceeds $75,000

ü Admiralty cases, or those pertaining to the sea

ü Patent and copyright cases

ü Bankruptcy cases

1. What is the general pattern of the court system in all states?

2. Characterize each court in one sentence.

3. Which court deals with minor offences?

4. What cases do juvenile courts try?

5. What legal matters do supreme courts decide?

6. Could you tell the difference between questions of law and questions of fact?

7. What courts can be called lower and higher ones?

8. What are courts of general jurisdiction?

I. Find the Russian equivalents for the words and expressions in bold from the text.

II. Find the synonymic expressions and match words from A column to those of B column.

A	B
Justice of the Peace court	Minor cases
Petty crimes	Delinquent children
To handle a case	Hearing
Trial	Magistrate’s court
Juvenile offenders	To try a case

III. Give examples of legal professions from the text.

IV. Match and memorize:

A	B
1. traffic courts	a) суд по делам о расследуемых полицией мелких преступлениях (полицейский суд)
2. police courts	b) суд первой инстанции
3. municipal courts	c) суд ограниченной юрисдикции
4. general trial court	d) суд по делам о нарушении безопасности движения (дорожный суд)
5. court of general jurisdiction	e) суд графства (в Великобритании); окружной суд (в США)
6. courts of limited jurisdiction	f) апелляционный суд
7. justice of the peace court	g) муниципальный суд (суд первой инстанции в ряде штатов США)
8. county court	h) суд общей юрисдикции
9. superior court	i) мировой суд
10. court of common pleas	j) суд по делам о наследстве
11. circuit court	k) суд по семейным делам (местный суд специальной юрисдикции в штате)
12. probate court	l) суд по делам несовершеннолетних
13. mayor’s court	m) Верховный суд
14. domestic relations court	n) окружной суд (основной суд первой инстанции в штате, ведающий делами одного или нескольких округов (графств), в которых по очереди проходят регулярные судебные заседания)
15. juvenile court	o) суд мэра
16. appellate court	p) суд общегражданских исков
17. Supreme court	q) высший суд (промежуточная судебная инстанция в ряде штатов США между судебными учреждениями первой инстанции и Верховным судом штата)

V. Write out expressions with the word “case” and translate them.

VI. Make up a classification scheme of the court system.

PROJECT WORK

Visit the site at www.americanbar.org and find out the information about the mission and the goals of this professional membership organization. Speak on the following: How does the ABA influence the development of the profession of law in the USA?

Reviewing What We Learned

1. What is a court of law?

2. What does a court consist of?

3. How can courts be classified?

4. What do criminal courts deal with?

5. What do civil courts deal with?

6. Is contempt of court punishable?

7. What courts constitute a court system of a state?

Дата добавления: 2015-11-14