Close-up p 70. Crime and Punishment. Extra Speaking

1. MONOLOGUE. Prepare a talk of AT LEAST 5 minutes on the subject. You may use the pictures above and the contents below if you wish:

If it were not for injustice, men would not know justice. - Heraclitus, c. 535 – c. 475 BCE was a pre-Socratic Greek philosopher-

What is fairness? Should we torture one person to save many?  
Justice is giving people what they deserve, but the real difficulty begins with figuring out who deserves what and why. 
The idea that there are universal duties requires that we treat human beings with respect, regardless of who they are, or what they’re doing, or where they live. 
Are miscarriages of justice rare and exceptional? 
What happens after exoneration? Have you heard of anyone who has been exonerated?
What could be done with victims of wrongful convictions in order to help them back to a normal life?

You may make some notes for your talk to take into the exam. These should not exceed five lines.


2. INTERACTION

In this part of the test, the examiner will ask you some questions about issues related to the TOPIC. Remember that you are expected to have a conversation as natural as possible and give full answers. This part of the examination will last AT LEAST 5 minutes. You will not see the questions below.

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TEACHER'S QUESTIONS  

1. Have you ever caught anybody red-handed doing something wrong?
2. Can you think of a famous person who has been in the dock recently? Why? What is the public opinion? Do you think public opinion can influence the jury's or the judge's decision when they return a verdict? Do you think the media plays a crucial role?
3. Can you think of anybody who has been subpoenaed to appear as a witness in court? What did this witness have to give evidence about?  
4. Do you think there are criminals who instead of doing time should do some kind of community service? Can you give some examples? Do you think judges are too lenient?
5. Can you think of an instance of a phishing scam? How was it run?
6. What would you do to combat corruption?
7. Are there any crimes where you live that the police should crack down on? 
8. Have you or anyone you know ever reported an incident to the police? What happened?
9. What scam has been uncovered recently?
10. What can companies do to avoid liability?





Vocabulary
1.
miscarriage of justice: a situation in which a court makes a wrong decision, especially when somebody is punished when they are innocent.

exoneration: /ɪɡˌzɒnəˈreɪʃn/ the act of officially stating that somebody is not responsible for something that they have been blamed for. E.g. A DNA test eventually led to his exoneration.  

exonerate somebody (from something) /ɪɡˈzɒnəreɪt/ (formal) to officially state that somebody is not responsible for something that they have been blamed for. E.g. The police report exonerated Lewis from all charges of corruption. The president cannot be exonerated from responsibility for this problem. The report exonerates the president of any knowledge of the arms deal. 

wrongful: not fair, morally right or legal. E.g. She decided to sue her employer for wrongful dismissal.

2.
catch somebody red-handed: to catch somebody in the act of doing something wrong or committing a crime. E.g. I caught him red-handed, stealing a wallet.

witness the crime/attack/murder/incident.

sit/stand/appear/be put/place somebody in the dock.

Dock: the part of a court where the person who has been accused of a crime stands or sits during a trial. Sp. El banquillo de los acusados. E.g. He's been in the dock (= on trial for a crime) several times already. 

reach a unanimous/majority verdict.
return/deliver/record a verdict of not guilty/unlawful killing/accidental death.Return a verdict: to give a decision about something in court. Sp. Emitir. E.g. The jury returned a verdict of not guilty. The inquest ( investigation) returned a verdict of accidental death.

be called to/enter (British English) the witness box.

take/put somebody on the stand/(North American English) the witness stand

call/subpoena/question/cross-examine a witness.

Subpoena: /səˈpiːnə/ to order somebody to attend court and give evidence as a witness. E.g. The court subpoenaed her to appear as a witness. 

give/hear the evidence against/on behalf of somebody.

Evidence: the information that is used in court to try to prove something. Sp. Testimonio. E.g. I was asked to give evidence (= to say what I knew, describe what I had seen, etc.) at the trial. 

lenient: not as strict as expected when punishing somebody or when making sure that rules are obeyed. E.g. a lenient sentence/fine. The judge was far too lenient with him.

restraining order (against somebody):  an official order given by a judge which demands that something must or must not be done. A restraining order does not require a trial in court but only lasts for a limited period of time. A restraining order or protective order is an order used by a court to protect a person or entity, and the general public, in a situation involving alleged domestic violence, harassment, stalking, or sexual assault. Sp. orden de alejamiento.

convict/acquit the defendant of the crime.
receive/be given the death penalty.
be sentenced to ten years (in prison/jail).
do/serve time/ten years.

launder drug money (through something).
Launder: /ˈlɔːndə(r)/ to move money that has been obtained illegally into foreign bank accounts or legal businesses so that it is difficult for people to know where the money came from. E.g. Most of the drugs money was laundered through Swiss bank accounts. 

run a phishing/an email/an Internet scam.

Phishing: the activity of tricking people by getting them to give their identity, bank account numbers, etc. over the Internet or by email, and then using these to steal money from them.

statute of limitations: the legal limit on the period of time within which action can be taken on a crime or other legal question. E.g. at the time of the trial, his actions had passed the statutes of limitations so he was released.

combat/fight crime/terrorism/corruption/drug trafficking.

reduce/tackle/crack down on knife/gun/violent/street crime; (especially British English) antisocial behaviour.

Crack down (on somebody/something): to try harder to prevent an illegal activity and deal more severely with those who are caught doing it. Sp. Ponerse serio/duro. E.g. Police are cracking down on drug dealers.  

report a crime/a theft/a rape/an attack/(especially British English) an incident to the police.

investigate/reopen a criminal/murder case.

uncover new evidence/a fraud/a scam/a plot/a conspiracy/political corruption/a cache of weapons.

Scam: a clever and dishonest plan for making money. Sp. Estafa, timo. E.g. an insurance scam.
Cache: /kæʃ/ a hidden store of things such as weapons. Sp. Alijo. E.g. an arms cache 

Influence peddling: the illegal activity of a politician doing something for somebody in return for payment. Sp. tráfico de influencias.

Blackmail: the crime of demanding money from a person by threatening to tell somebody else a secret about them. Sp. Chantaje.

Bribery: the giving or taking of bribes. Sp. soborno. E.g. She was arrested on bribery charges. Allegations of bribery and corruption.

Bribe: a sum of money or something valuable that you give or offer to somebody to persuade them to help you, especially by doing something dishonest. E.g. It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office.She had been offered a $50000 bribe to drop the charges.

Embezzlement: theft or misappropriation of funds placed in one’s trust or belonging to one’s employer. E.g. charges of fraud and embezzlement.

admit your guilt/liability/responsibility (for something)

Liability: /ˌlaɪəˈbɪləti/ the state of being legally responsible for something. Sp. Responsabilidad. E.g. The company cannot accept liability for any damage caused by natural disasters.