Complete the sentences using proper words in the box.

endangered, aggravated, animals, sovereign, punishment, guilty, element, offenses, battery, degrees, federal.

1. Abuse and neglect of domestic … which causes the inflic­tion of unjustifiable suffering is a crime in most jurisdictions.

2. It is a crime under … law to kill animals of a protected or … species.

3. The United States consists of fifty separate … jurisdictions, plus the federal government and its territories.

4. The crime of arson is often divided into ….

5. A severe … was provided for the burning of two motels.

6. A person burning a building can be … of arson even if the building is unoccupied.

7. Physical contact is not an essential … of assault.

8. The higher degrees of … assault consist of such … as assault with intent to kill and assault with intent to rob.

9. In cases of fights by mutual agreement, both participants may be guilty of assault and …

8. Match the synonyms:

9. Match the antonyms:

Comprehension

Answer the questions.

ARSON

1. How did the common law define arson?

2. How have statutes enlarged the common law definition of arson?

3. What arson causes a more severe punishment?

4. Why can a person be found guilty of arson even if the building is unoccupied?

5. Why is arson committed by the owner of the property also punishable?

ANIMALS

1. What attitudes toward animals are considered to be a crime?

2. Are only domestic animals protected by law?

3. What animals are referred to as endangered species?

4. Can you name some of them?

ASSAULT AND BATTERY

1. How can assault be defined under the criminal law?

2. What is an essential element of assault?

3. What kind of offense is defined as battery?

4. What is an essential element of both assault and battery?

5. What does the higher of aggravated assault consist of?

6. What acts do not usually constitute criminal assault or battery?

7. What act may be considered a defense in a prosecution for assault and battery?

Say if the following statements are true or false. Comment on the true statements and correct the false ones.

1. The usual practices of animal husbandry resorted to for the purpose of training an animal constitutes cruelty in most jurisdictions.

2. Neglect of animals does not constitute a crime.

3. Under federal law, it is not a crime to harm or interfere with animals of an endangered species.

4. A more severe punishment is provided for the burning of a dwelling house

5. There are several degrees of arson.

6. If the building is not occupied, a person cannot be found guilty of arson.

7. Touching or striking of a person does not constitute criminal battery.

8. Physical contact is an essential element of assault.

9. A threat of violence is an essential element of assault.

10. If a person consented to an act committed against him/her, this act does not constitute criminal assault or battery.

Discussion

12. Speak on the crime the willful burning of the dwelling of another constitutes. Use the following words and phrases:

- malicious burning;

- decided to enlarge the definition of arson;

- the owner of the property;

- degrees of arson;

- even if the building is unoccupied;

- was materially injured;

- the fire communicated to a distant part of the building.

13. Divide the paragraph "Assault and battery" into logical parts and entitle each of them.

14. Work in pairs:

a) Look at the following words and phrases and think of a story that might combine them all. You may reorder them in any way you want to using any form of the verb:

- endangered species;

- it constitutes cruelty;

- he inflicted the unjustifiable pain to his domestic animals;

- his attitude constitutes abuse;

- he only resorted to husbandry and chastisement;

- it was a legitimate research.

B) When you have decided upon the story, tell it to your partner. Then listen to that of your partner. Ask each other as many questions as you can to learn further details or clarify some points.

Give a summary of the text.

Speak individually or arrange a discussion on the following.

· The best way to prevent an assault is carrying some weapon – a gun or at least a knife.

· I don’t think that physical contact is an essential element in the offense of assault and battery.

· I think only those who set fire to occupied buildings can be convicted of arson.

Case study

Scrutinize the situations and provide detailed and motivated answers to the questions given below.

Identify key points in the articles and extract information from them to pass on to somebody else.

I

CAMPAIGNING IN THE NUDE

I was happy to see the people item about, and photograph of, Boss agency models’ turning their back on fur and posing nude to show their support for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. It reaffirmed that there really are people nuttier than I. I am not at all impressed by the models’ plan to take off their robes. It actually sounds rather narcissistic. If these people want to do something sacrificial, they should shave all the hair off their bodies. That would demonstrate their ability to empathize with the animals whose “rights” they are defending [5].

Raymond J. Herman. Baltimore, Maryland

Questions:

1. Why did the models turn their backs on fur and pose nude?

2. Would you support animals of protected or endangered species the way these girls did?

3. Do you think the models’ action will turn out to be effective?

4. Will the models follow the advice of the reader and do the sacrificial thing he recommends?

5. Don’t you think that Russia’s laws protecting migratory animals and animals of endangered species should be drastically changed?

6. What means of defending animals’ right to live and to survive would you suggest?

GAY MAN SHOT DEAD

Jonathan Schmitz, 26, a waiter and guest on a U.S. TV talk show who fatally shot a fellow guest three days after their taped encounterwas convicted of second-degree murder; in Pontiac, Michigan. During a March 1995 taping of the Jenny Jones Show, Schmitz, a de­clared heterosexual, expected to meet a female with a secret crush on him but learned that his admirer was a gay man, Scott Amedure, 32. The jurors decided not to convict Schmitz of more serious first-degree murder after a defense plea that his history of depression coupled with the shock of the TV "ambush" left him mentally incapacitated [7].

Questions:

1. What degree murder was Schmitz convicted of?

2. Why do you think he murdered Scott Amedure?

3. Why did the jurors decide not to convict Schmitz of more serious first-degree murder?

III

DEAD MEN TELL NO TALES

Hong Kong

Pirates were the first predators of global commerce. They are on the rise again, and a new, high-seas breed is organised, well-financed and ruthless.

Piracy still remains a serious, and bloody, business. And in Asia at least, it is on the rise again.

Pirate attacks, usually against large ships, have doubled during the 1990s, to 200 a year. Last year, 67 crew members were killed, 66 of them in Asia. In the first nine months of this year, pirate attacks surged in Asian waters. Nearly three-quarters of all of the world's pi­rate attacks now take place in the region. The waters around Indonesia alone accounted for a third of all attacks.

There is an ex­traordinary concentration of ships in the South China Sea along well-established shipping lanes to Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea and Japan. The ships, particularly at anchor, are easy prey for the armed gangs.

Pirates, armed with guns or machetes, will kill even for paltry rewards such as mooring ropes or petty cash. That is why the crews of most shipping companies are un­der strict instructions to follow pirates' or­ders to the letter. Says one captain: “We don't want a bunch of heroes putting lives at risk, all for the sake of $100 in the safe”. Officers of most shipping companies were once issued with a Colt 45 and a Winchester carbine. But these days guns on board are expressly for­bidden by almost all shipowners because they are reckoned to be more dangerous to the crew trying to use them than to the assail­ants. Moreover, says the captain, “it's guns the rascals are after”.

Typically, pirates approach at night, their high-speed boats too small to show up on the ship's radar. They board from under the stem, out of sight of the bridge, by throw­ing a grapnel [абордажный крюк] up to the rail and climbing up the rope. Attacks are usually too sudden for the crew to sound the alarm until the rob­bery is over. By then the pirates will have dis­appeared back into the night [17].

Questions:

1. Where do nearly three-quarters of all of the world's pi­rate attacks take place now?

2. Why do you think piracy is on the rise again?

3. What weapons are pirates usually armed with?

4. Why are the crews of most shipping companies un­der strict instructions to follow pirates' or­ders to the letter?

5. Why are guns on board expressly for­bidden by almost all shipowners?

FROM TIME IMMEMORIAL…

THE LAW OF THE MEDES AND PERSIANS –

ЗАКОН МИДЯН И ПЕРСОВ

he term the law of the Medes and Persians is used to denote a law or custom which is not subject to any modification or alteration. It is an allusion to the code of laws adopted by Darius, the head of the Persian Empire, 522 – 486 B. C. The law was aimed at strengthening the country.

Pronunciation and stress:

Darius [dǝ´raiǝs], Medes [´mi:dz], Persians [´pǝ:ʃǝnz], empire [´empaiǝ].

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