Crime & Punishment
DR FINGERS’ VOCABULARY CLINIC
Our monthly look at interesting words and expressions.
DR FINGERS’ VOCABULARY CLINIC
This month we’re looking at some more words you can use to talk about crime and punishment.
Lawyer
A GENERAL
TERM THAT
CAN REFER TO
ANYONE WHO
WORKS IN THE
LEGAL
PROFESSION.
“After studying
law, she became
a lawyer.”Break the law
IF SOMEONE “BREAKS THE LAW”,
THEY DO SOMETHING ILLEGAL.
“You broke the law when you downloaded
that book without paying for it.”Alibi
IF YOU HAVE AN
“ALIBI”, YOU CAN
PROVE THAT YOU
WERE SOMEWHERE
ELSE WHEN A CRIME
WAS COMMITTED.
“He was a suspect in
the investigation, but
he had a good alibi
so the police
couldn’t arrest him.”Solicitor
IN THE UK, THERE ARE TWO TYPES OF LAWYER:
SOLICITORS AND BARRISTERS. SOLICITORS
PREPARE LEGAL DOCUMENTS, ADVISE CLIENTS
AND REPRESENT THEM IN CIVIL AND CRIMINAL
COURTS. THEY OFTEN DEAL WITH BUSINESS LAW,
WILLS (DOCUMENTS THAT SAY WHAT WILL HAPPEN
TO YOUR MONEY/PROPERTY AFTER DEATH),
CONVEYANCE (PROPERTY), ETC.
“After the death of her father, she hired a solicitor to sort
out the paperwork.”Barrister
A TYPE OF LAWYER IN THE
UK WHO REPRESENTS
CLIENTS (OR SOLICITORS)
IN A HIGHER COURT OF
LAW. THEY ARE THE ONES
WHO SPEAK DURING THE
TRIAL. THEY SOMETIMES
WEAR WHITE WIGS IN
COURT.
“The barrister stood up to
speak during the trial.”Attorney (US)
THIS IS AN AMERICAN ENGLISH WORD FOR A LAWYER.
THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY (OR D.A.) WORKS FOR THE
STATE AND PROSECUTES PEOPLE. THEY'RE KNOWN
AS “PROSECUTORS” IF THEY'RE TRYING TO PROVE
THAT SOMEONE IS GUILTY OF A CRIME; OR “DEFENSE
ATTORNEYS” IF THEY ARE DEFENDING A CLIENT.
“His defense attorney didn’t do a very good job and he was
sent to prison.”The prosecution
THE PERSON OR TEAM
OF LAWYERS WHO ARE
TRYING TO PROVE THAT
SOMEONE IS GUILTY
(THE “PROSECUTION
COUNSEL” IN US
ENGLISH).
“Michael Saunders, for the
prosecution, said that the
murder had been carried
out between 6 and 9pm.”The defence
THE PERSON OR
TEAM OF LAWYERS
WHO DEFEND
A CLIENT (THE
“COUNSEL FOR THE
DEFENSE” IN US
ENGLISH).
“The counsel for the
defense argued that the
case should never have
been brought to court.”(part I I)
Fine
A SUM OF
MONEY
SOMEONE
MUST PAY
IF THEY DO
SOMETHING
ILLEGAL.
“He was given
a €600 ine for
damaging the
building.”AUDIO28 / http://www.learnhotenglish.com / Want to do an internship with Hot English? For more information, e-mail [email protected]