You are Going to Prison 👮🏻‍♂️🚨👮🏻‍♀️ - Law and Order English words and phrases

hi everybody this is Mr Duncan in England.

How are you today are you okay? I hope so are you happy? I hope so.

In today's lesson we are going to look at the system

that tries and sometimes fails to keep us all on the straight and narrow.

That is to say those who uphold the laws of the land

and in doing so encourages us all to obey them.

In this lesson we are going to look at the subject of...

law and order.

When we talk about law and order we are expressing the rules that exist

in society. By that we mean the laws which must be observed and the rules

that govern everyday social interaction. The ability

to keep law and order is often seen as the sign

of a civilised society. With these laws come stability and order.

We will often refer to the laws of the land when discussing the important rules

that govern our day-to-day lives.

To make the laws work they must be enforced.

To enforce is to persuade someone to do something.

In this case the persuasion is carried out

by giving out punishment

to those who go against the laws that have been laid down

If you break one of the laws then

you will be punished the harshness of the punishment depends on how serious the action is.

To go against a law is described as a crime.

You break the law. You commit a crime.

An action that breaks the law is an offence a person who breaks the law

can be described as a...

A law breaker.

A felon.

An offender.

They have broken the law.

The punishment given to those who break the law depends on how serious the offence is.

From a minor offence such as parking your car where it's not supposed to be,

or dropping litter in the street.

To more serious crimes such as theft and robbery.

Right up to the most serious crimes of all such as...

and of course murder.

The punishment for which can be very harsh indeed.

If you commit a crime then you run the risk of being punished.

For a minor crime such as a parking offence you will most likely be given a fine.

You will have to pay a large sum of money as punishment.

Fines are often given at the point of the offence.

You might be informed of the fine via a letter from a certain authority.

For more serious offences evidence must be first gathered.

The evidence is used to prove that you carried out the offence.

Evidence can be used to prove either innocence or guilt.

A person who is being questioned about a crime is often described as the suspect.

The word suspect can be used as both a noun and verb.

For a serious crime you will often be questioned under caution.

if you find yourself being suspected of being involved in a crime,

you will be cautioned and arrested.

The caution is often read out by a police officer.

Generally speaking in law silence cannot be used to prove guilt.

However the act of staying silent might jeopardise your defence at a later time.

To be detained by the police is described as being under arrest.

You have been arrested. You have been detained in custody.

You are being questioned about a crime.

Normally there will be a solicitor or lawyer present during the questioning.

If a crime was committed in a public place there will often be witnesses.

A witness is a person who saw the event take place.

When investigating a crime witnesses can be very useful to shed light on the events that took place.

If there is enough evidence to show that you may have committed the crime

then you will be charged with the offence.

This means that you will have to go to court to defend yourself.

Someone will defend your side of the story, while another person will prosecute you.

A group of people will decide if you are guilty or not based on the evidence they have heard in the court of law.

If you are found guilty then a sentence will be passed down

by the judge who has been in control during the trial. The judge will have the final word.

and decide what your punishment should be.

Silence in court, silence in court!

Judge Moody presiding.

You heard what the man said, judge moody presiding.

Silence in court!

My name is judge moody and I sit here every day.

Waiting for the next poor soul that I'll have to put away.

So another bad apple appears as i muse will I throw away the key?

As I sit watching the defendant sweat, wishing they were free.

So I listen to the evidence with a keen set of ears.

If the people find him guilty, then he'll go away for years.

He killed his wife with a tin of paint, it said crimson on the lid.

They caught him red-handed, but he refused to say what he did.

Members of the jury have you reached a verdict yet?

Yes your honour lock him up for life, he deserves everything he'll get.

So the next time you want to do something bad, it might be all to no avail.

Because if you end up in front of me...

I will send you away to jail.

Silence in court!

I will have silence in my court.

The technical term for law enforcement in court is - J u d i c i a l

The judicial system involves all those connected with prosecuting a suspect.

The basic rule of all court trials is that a person is innocent until proven guilty.

To be arrested for a crime means you are a suspect.

To be charged with a crime means that you must face trial.

In the criminal justice system, the people are represented by two separate yet equally important groups.

The police who investigate crime and the district attorneys who prosecute the offenders.

The word attorney relates to a trained law expert that is qualified to either

prosecute or defend a person who is standing trial.

An attorney is used in the United States, while in England we use a lawyer.

You might also hear the word solicitor used when discussing the laws of England.

In some cases a solicitor might offer assistance in a court trial

but in general terms a solicitor's work involves giving legal advice.

You might also hear the word barrister used during an English court trial.

A barrister is a law professional that is often called to take part in a high court trial.

They have been approved to serve in a court of law or at the bar.

The legal term 'bar' relates to the area where legal proceedings take place.

In older courtrooms an actual partition would divide the public from the official court proceedings.

These days the bar is often notional rather than a physical barrier,

however the term is still used when discussing court proceedings and the officials involved.

Before a person gives evidence in court they must swear an oath

to tell the truth or face punishment too.

The oath is given whilst holding a holy book.

The bible is often used in many courtrooms,

however a person may also swear on a different sacred book depending on their own personal beliefs.

I swear by almighty God the evidence I shall give will be the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

The swearing to God part can also be left out in certain situations where a person's religious views differ.

If you receive a prison sentence then you will be Incarcerated.

The term that you must spend in prison can vary from just a few days for a minor misdemeanour,

Right up to a long-term sentence stretching over many years.

The term in prison can be described as 'time'.

The imprisoned person is doing time.

They are behind bars.

They are in the clink.

They are doing porridge.

They have been banged up.

Punishment for serious crimes can lead to a person being locked away for the rest of their life.

A life sentence is given to those that have committed a heinous act.

The word heinous means atrocious an act of brutality that is deemed abhorrent to the average person,

will more than likely be handed a life sentence.

Just because a person has been sentenced for a crime

does not mean that the whole sentence will be served.

A prison sentence may in some cases be shortened as the time is being served.

This is called parole'

A ten year prison sentence might only end up being served for five.

Parole is given to those who have proved themselves ready to be released back into the public.

In some situations a prisoner

might be released early whilst serving time for a serious offence.

it is possible to be sentenced to a jail term without any chance of parole.

A person might also be given a suspended jail sentence

this means that the offender will not have to go to prison,

but will have the sentence held back

for a certain period of time.

The person receiving a suspended sentence will have to stay out of trouble,

during the time of the suspension or face going to prison for the original crime.

It is worth noting that the way in which laws are created and enforced

can vary a lot between nations.

The individual laws of one country might not exist in the same way in another.

In some cases the law might not exist at all.

Laws are drawn up and then enforced.

Sometimes the guidelines of a particular law might change due to what is called a precedent.

If part of a legal procedure changes in some way during a trial

then that change must be considered during all subsequent proceedings.

That is to say if any change is made to the way the trial is carried out

then that change becomes a precedent for all similar court cases in the future

Many words used in law are derived from Latin.

In many cases the words are used literally as they were originally.

For example 'corpus delicti' which means the facts and circumstances that constitute a crime.

Then there is 'subpoena' which is a document demanding that material must be handed over,

or a person must appear in court to assist a trial.

The basis of law enforcement stems from the judicial systems of the past which have evolved over the years.

Even the word justice comes from the Latin word for 'right'.

Justice is what is just. It is what is fair.

Every person is given a chance to defend themselves in court.

Those involved in a court trial are required to remain impartial.

As I said earlier a person is presumed innocent until all the evidence has been heard. and

and a defence has been properly given then and only then can any judgement take place.

in serious court cases there will be a group of people picked at random that will make the judgement

on whether a person is innocent or guilty.

This group is referred to as the jury.

This is normally made up of 12 people that will sit and listen to all the evidence from the prosecution

and the defence from the lawyer representing the defendant.

At the end of the trial they must reach a verdict.

This must be unanimous.

A guilty verdict will be given if the jury believes that the defendant is responsible for the crime.

A not guilty verdict will be given if the jury decides that the defendant did not commit the crime.

It is possible for no verdict to be reached.

If the jury cannot reach a verdict, then the trial becomes invalid.

In the United States it is often referred to as a mistrial.

There are many symbols connected to the laws which govern us.

For example the symbol of justice is often depicted as a set of scales.

We describe the law as being something that weighs both the evidence and the defence.

The lady of justice consists of a female figure holding a sword in one hand

and a beam-balance in the other.

She is sometimes depicted wearing a blindfold, which represents the impartiality and objectivity of those holding the trial.

For a good example of this statue, look no further than the top of The Old Bailey court building in London,

where Lady Justice can be seen holding both the beam-balance and her sword of truth,

ready to be wielded at those that dare to go against the laws of the land.

Over the years there have been many film and television shows made

that have depicted the judicial system in various ways.

Some of the stories are fictitious whilst others are based on actual events.

There have been depictions of police officers carrying out their duties both fairly and unfairly.

Police brutality and misuse of the law courts are both seen as serious offences.

This means that just because an individual enforces the law they are not above it.

If they are found guilty they will face the same type of punishment as everyone else.

A person who never commits crime or avoids breaking the law can be described as a law-abiding citizen.

They obey the law.

They never break any social rules of law.

Abide means to stand with tolerate accept, or in this example go along with something.

There is an expression 'to keep your nose clean' this means that you avoid getting into trouble.

Have you ever been in trouble with the police?

What happened?

Was it something minor,

or something more serious?

I hope you've enjoyed today's lesson.

Unfortunately it is almost time to bring proceedings to a close.

I hope you've enjoyed this English lesson and I hope you will join me again very soon for another one.

This is Mr Duncan, or is it Judge Moody in England saying, thanks for watching...

see you again soon, take care until we meet again

and don't forget...

anything you say will be taken down and used against you in evidence.

And of course...

This court case is closed!

Ta ta for now 8-)