Юристы. Three branches of power
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The Three Branches of Power

The Framers knew that constitutional governments are often divided into different parts or branches. Each branch is given certain power of the government among three branches.
Legislative branch. The Framers gave this branch the power to make laws. The US national legislature is called Congress. Congress has two parts or houses: the Senate and the House of Representatives.
Executive branch. The Framers gave this branch the power to enforce, or carry out the laws made by Congress. The President is the head of this branch.
Judicial branch. The Framers gave this branch the power to settle disagreements about what the laws mean. The Supreme Court is the highest power in this branch. Senate: Each state can send two representatives to the Senate.

The US Senate now has 100 members.
House of representatives: The number of representatives each state can send to the House of Representatives depends on its population. For example, in 1988, California, which has the largest population, had 45 representatives. The US House of Representatives has 435 members. Congress has the power to tax the people, to create a court system, and to declare a war. The Constitution gives Congress the power to pass all laws that are necessary to carry out its responsibilities. Congress is responsible for providing the general welfare of the US.
The power of Congress is limited. Congress cannot make any law it wishes and have the law enforced.
The Supreme Court has the power to declare a law made by Congress unconstitutional.
The Framers wanted to give the President enough power to carry out and enforce the laws made by Congress. They did not want to give the President too much power. If they did, the President might be able to gain unlimited power and become a dictator.
The duties and the powers of the President are listed in Article II of the Constitution.
The President is the head of the executive branch.
The President is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces.
The President is responsible for dealing with other countries.
The President is the single most powerful person in the US government.
The President has the power to appoint people to important jobs in the executive and judicial branches. However, the Senate can limit or check this power by not approving the persons suggested by the President.
The President has the power to make a treaty with another nation. However, the treaty must be approved by the Senate.
The President can conduct a war. However, only Congress can declare a war. Although the President commands the armed forces, Congress can check this power by controlling the money needed to conduct a war.
By a 2/3 vote, Congress may approve a bill over the President's veto.
The Constitution gives Congress the power to impeach the President. If found guilty, the President can be removed from office.
The home of the American President is the White House. Here he meets with, the leaders of foreign countries.
The President, as the Head of the State, is elected for the period of 4 years. He has representative functions: leading the country, determining foreign policy and taking part in the law-making process. He is one of the most powerful men in the world.
The job of Congress is to make the laws. The President and Congress work together and check on each other.
The Framers created the judicial branch to handle disagreements over the law. Besides, the courts would settle disagreements between individuals and the government. Different levels of courts would settle different kinds of cases. The Supreme Court was created as the highest court in the judicial branch. The head of the Supreme Court was called the Chief Justice.
Judges were not elected. They were appointed to office.
Judge served in the judicial branch until he retired or died. He could be impeached and removed from the position, just like the President.

                                        Alibi

Look at the following words and try to match them with their definitions:

1. Alibi:                        a) Didn’t do a crime.        

2. Criminal:                b) The place where a trial is held.

3. Convicted:                c)Someone who did a crime.

4. Innocent:                d) Did a crime.

5. Interrogate:                e) Ask questions to suspected criminals.

6. Guilty:                       f)Facts, things, and testimony needed to prove

                                who the criminal is.

7. Court:                        g) Found guilty in a court of law.

8. Trial:                        h) Someone the police think may have done the

                                crime.

9. Suspect:                i) A story (true or not) used to prove someone  

                            is innocent;

10. Evidence:                j) Someone who saw a crime.

 11.Witness:             k) The time when evidence is presented at a                                        court and people decide if the suspect is guilty or innocent.

Breaking News:

Yesterday the bank at the corner of 5th and main was robbed. Police have caught three suspects.  The police have the three suspects in separate rooms  and will begin interrogating them shortly.  The robbery happened between 5:00 and 9:00.  The suspects claim to have an alibi.  They say they were at the movies between 5:00 and 7:00, at the café between 7:00 and 8:00, and at the bowling alley between 8:00 and 9:00.

Interrogation Sheet

Suspect 1:

5:00 – 7:00 at the movies.

7:00 – 8:00 at the café.

8:00 to 9:00 at the bowling alley.

Suspect 2:

5:00 – 7:00 at the movies.

7:00 – 8:00 at the café.

8:00 to 9:00 at the bowling alley.

Suspect 3:

5:00 – 7:00 at the movies.

7:00 – 8:00 at the café.

8:00 to 9:00 at the bowling alley.

Ear Prints and Dog Line-ups

 We have all seen police gathering evidence in the movies. Typically, the police try to find fingerprints or have a witness pick a criminal out of a line-up. But have you ever heard of ‘ear prints’ or dog line-ups.

Like fingerprints, the shape of people’s ears may help police identify criminals. Ear printing is a new branch of forensic science. But, some forensic experts think that it is still too unreliable to be used for evidence in a criminal trial.

In 1998, Mark Dallagher was convicted of murder. The primary evidence used by the police was an ear print found on a window at the crime scene. A forensic expert testified that the ear print was certainly Mark’s. Not knowing that ear printing was unreliable, the jury believed the forensic scientist. However, luckily for Mark new DNA evidence, which is thought to be more reliable, has cleared Mark of the crime.

Another questionable kind of forensic evidence is the ‘dog line-up’. In a dog line-up, a scent bottle of the crime scene is made using a special scent absorbing cloth.  The dog smells several people standing in a line-up and indicates if it recognizes the scent.

Although this method is not ‘junk science’, its reliability is still questioned.  Some experts think that ‘nobody should be convicted solely on the basis of a dog wagging its tail.’

Vocabulary

1. a line-up – опознание
2. forensic science- криминалистика
3. unreliable – ненадежный
4. testify – свидетельствовать
5. DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid ) – ДНК                        
6. junk science – псевдонаука
7. wag the tail – вилять хвостом

Answer the questions:

(1) What is the title of the article?

(2) What have we all seen in the movies?

(3) What kind of evidence do police typically look for?

(4) What new branch of forensic evidence is mentioned in the article?

(5) What do some forensic experts think of ear printing?

(6) What was Mark Dallagher convicted of?

(7) What was the primary evidence used to convict him?

(8) What did a forensic expert testify?

(9) What did the jury not know?

(10) What new evidence was used to prove that Mark was innocent?

(11) What is another questionable kind of forensic evidence?

(12) How do police get the scent from the crime scene?

(13) What do some experts feel about convicting people with this kind of evidence?