IDIOMS
felony – a serious crime such as murder or burglary
Sentence- The harassment charge was reduced from extortion, a felony, to the misdemeanor of harassment in exchange for the plea.
pickpocketing – stealing someone’s belongings from pockets and purses
Sentence- Petty theft and pickpocketing are becoming increasingly common in the city centre.
shoplifting – stealing things from a shop or store.
Sentence- Only in the crime of shoplifting does the ratio of females convicted even approach that of males.
traffic offences – crimes committed on the road
Sentence- Ron Sykes has been reported to the Crown Prosecution Service who will decide whether to charge him with traffic offences.
a defendant – a person accused of a crime in court
Sentence- The defendant may make a statement under caution.
a prosecutor – the lawyer who represents the side that tries to prove the person guilty
Sentence- Then I will ask the prosecutor and his assistant to do the same thing.
a witness – a person who sees something (such as crime) happening.
Sentence- The prosecution lawyer cross-examined the defence witness.
guilty – responsible for committing a crime or doing something wrong.
Sentence- He was found guilty of obtaining money by deception.
victim – a person who has been attacked in some way by somebody.
Sentence- A friend of the victim was subpoenaed as a witness by lawyers representing the accused.
Innocent / unsuspecting victim – not deserving to be harmed;
Sentence- Can you provide any evidence that he was innocent of the crime?
to portray somebody as a victim – to present somebody as a victim.
Sentence- The lawyer portrayed his client as a victim of child abuse.
a suspect – a person who is believed to be guilty.
Sentence- Police shot one suspect when he pulled a gun on them.
an attorney – a lawyer who can sue or defend people.
Sentence- The attorney quickly turned his main defense argument on its head.
evidence – something that can serve to prove something. In our context evidence is usually presented in court to prove that someone is guilty or innocent.
Sentence- Her judgements are based on hearsay rather than evidence.
hearsay evidence – evidence based not on a witness’s personal knowledge but on another’s statement not made under oath;
Sentence- Hearsay Evidence is the one of the most controversial evidence types in Anglo-American Evidence Law System.
criminal evidence – evidence related to a criminal case;
Sentence- The exclusionary rules of illegal evidence are unmovable parts of modern rules of criminal evidence.
in the light of evidence / in the face of evidence – considering the evidence.
Sentence- In the light of evidences the court sentenced him 2 years imprisonment .
not a scrap of evidence – no evidence;
Sentence- There’s not a scrap of evidence to support his claim.
verdict – the decision made by a jury in a trial.
Sentence- Two of the judges disagreed with the verdict.
adverse verdict – negative verdict
Sentence- In the case of an adverse verdict, the company could stand to lose millions.
to appeal against a verdict – to protest a verdict
Sentence- He appealed against the verdict.
final verdict – definitive verdict.
Sentence- There is still no final verdict of law essence of the syndicated loan.
a judge – a public official given the right to decide on questions brought before a court of justice
Sentence- The judge invoked an international law that protects refugees.
jury – a group of people that decides on a court case
Sentence- The jury awarded $11.2 million in compensatory damages.
