Civil and Criminal Law (US)

Anna Patricia China

P
Pronoun
use
have the text in hands
Civil Law versus Criminal Law (US)
General concepts
Civil Law Concepts
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Personal pronouns
subject
f
form
I
you
he
she
it
we
you
theyy

Possessive Adjectives and

Pronouns
object form possessive possessive
adjective
dj ti
pronoun
me
my
mine
you
your
yours
him
his
his
her
her
hers
it
its
its
us
our
ours
you
your
yours
them
their
theirs

Reflexive
pronouns

myself
yourself
himself
herself
itself
ourselves
yourselves
themselves

P
Personal
l pronouns division
di i i
Subject pronouns
Object pronouns
Personal pronouns represent specific
people or things.
g
Example:
I went home early. Carlos was kind enough
to drive me home.
home

Possessive Pronoun Division

possessive pronoun (used instead of a noun)
possessive adjective (usually used to
describe a noun, and it comes before it, like
other
th adjectives)
dj ti
)
possessive adjective
Examples:
My car is bigger than your car.
noun

My car is bigger than yours.

yours
possessive
pronoun
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This is my book. (Este meu livro.)

meu.))
This book is mine.
mine (Este livro meu
Os pronomes adjetivos possessivos (possessive
adjectives) sempre vm acompanhados de
substantivos, enquanto os pronomes substantivos
possessivos (possessive pronouns) substituem os
substantivos.
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Reflexive pronouns
p
Use reflexive pronouns:
when the object of a sentence is the same as
the subject
Example: My mom cut herself with a knife.
after a preposition
preposition, when the subject and the
object are the same
E
Example:
l Ib
bought
ht a gift
ift ffor myself.
lf
to mean alone or without any help: by +
reflexive
fl i pronoun
Example: I did all the cleaning by myself. (alone)
to emphasize
p
the subject
j
Example: I made this cake myself.
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Civil Law versus Criminal Law (US)

( )
Criminal law (also known as penal law) is
th body
the
b d off llaw d
dealing
li with
ith th
the
punishment of criminals for having
p
g broken
certain (criminal) laws.
One of the most fundamental distinctions
between civil and criminal law is in the
notion of punishment. In criminal law, a
guilty
ilt d
defendant
f d t iis punished
i h db
by either:
ith
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incarceration,
a fine paid to the government,
th death
the
d th penalty
lt (but
(b t only
l in
i exceptional
ti
l
cases)
cases).

Crimes are divided into two broad classes:

felonies have a maximum possible
sentence of more than one year
incarceration,
misdemeanors have a maximum
possible sentence of less than one year
incarceration.

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Criminal defendants are entitled to

h
have
legal
l
l counsel.
l If they
th are financially
fi
i ll
q
representation
p
unable to obtain adequate
by a private counsel a public defender is
appointed for their representation at
government expense.
g
p
By
y contrast,, in civil
proceedings, there is no general right
to have free legal assistance
assistance.

http://w
www.browarrddef

Criminal
defendants

Criminal
d f d t
defendants
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http://from
mtheleft.word
dpress.com

A civil defendant is
certainly never
incarcerated.
Basically, a losing
defendant in civil
litigation has to
reimburse the
plaintiff for the loss
caused by the
defendants behavior.

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In a civil case under tort law, there is a

possibility
ibilit off punitive
iti damages
d
if the
th
g g
and had
defendants conduct is egregious
either a malicious intent (that is, desire to
cause harm)
harm), gross negligence (that is
is,
conscious indifference),
), or a willful
disregard for the rights of others.

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Tort
ot
The law of obligations (in civil law systems)
i ttraditionally
is
diti
ll di
divided
id d iinto:
t
contractual obligations
tort obligations
g
Torts include all negligence cases as well
as intentional
i t ti
l wrongs which
hi h result
lt iin a
harm for which the law p
provides a
remedy.
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Therefore, a tort is a civil, not criminal

wrong which excludes breach of contract
wrong,
contract.
A tort entitles a person injured by damage
or loss resulting from the tort to claim
damages in compensation.
Torts include, for example:
negligence
Trespass
T
Defamation
nuisance
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uides.com

General concepts
Tort
beyond a reasonable doubt
clear and convincing evidence
ligation
prima facie

pro
b
bono

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Civil Law Concepts

mitigation of damages
pain and suffering
punitive damages
relief

jackfa
austatttorneyy.com

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Practice 1 Identifying
y gp
pronouns
The sentences below are from the text
Civil Law versus Criminal Law (US). What
do the underlined pronouns refer to?
Identifyy and write the noun (s)
( ) that the
underlined pronouns refer to.
E
Example:
l
A tort plaintiff generally has to establish
three elements in his action:
plaintiff

hi = plaintiff
his
l i tiff
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Practice 2 Discussion
After reading the texts above concerning
Ci il and
Civil
dC
Criminal
i i lL
Law answer th
the
questions below.
q
Who is the criminal law plaintiff?

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Practice 3 Definitions
Complete the definitions
definitions, use words from
the box below.
trespass

tort

damages

defamation

Claimant/plaintiff

damage

strict liability slander

tort
a)
a)_______________________
a breach of duty towards
other people

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Practice 4 - Vocabulary
y

noun
slander
defamation
libel
liabilityy
injury

adjective
dj ti
slanderous

You can use the on

on-line
line dictionary
http://dictionary.reference.com/ which also informs
related forms.
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Practice 5 Lets review

Change the sentences below
below, which are active
active,
to passive forms more typical of formal written
English, when the focus is on the actions and
processes.
processes
Example:
The solicitor gives the clients a fee estimate.
The clients are given a fee estimate by the
solicitor.
solicitor

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Homicide, murder
Homicide
murder, and manslaughter all
describe killings.
Homicide
H i id iis the
h umbrella
b ll term that
h
y sort of killing
g of human
includes any
beings.
Murder is the crime of intentionally
killing.
Manslaughter is the crime of killing
committed by a person who did not
intend to kill, or cannot be held
responsible for his or her actions

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V
Vocabulary
b l
check
h k

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mbloggerspla
anet.com

Review y
your lesson and do the
exercises

Check your answers

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