IntroductiontoLegalEnglish:ConceptsTerms
INTRODUCTION: Law
Definition of Law
1. a rule that issupported by the power ifgovernment and that controls that behavior of members ofsociety;
2. the whole setof suchrules;
3. a statement expressing what has always been seen tohappen in certain conditions;
4. respect and obedience for the law insociety
5. a field of academic discipline.
Discuss the use of the wordlaw in the following examples:
a. If you break the law, youmust expect to be punished. b. Boyle’slaw isa scientific principle.
c. With the president’ssignature, the bill becomes a law. d. She is a student of Law. (or) She is a law student.
e. The ultimategoal of the justicesystem is to establish law and order.
f. He took the law into his own hands.
Sources of Law
Law has its origins in the early developments of civilizedsociety, and through time there have been major influences on the laws that we follow today.
Match thesesources of law with the descriptions below. Pay close attention to theitalicized words and how they are used. If you donot knowthemeaning of the italicized words, look up the words ina dictionary and study them.
Common LawRoman LawNapoleonic Code
The 10 Commandments
_, whichevolved in the 8thcentury BC, was still largely a blend of custom and interpretationby magistratesof the will of the gods.
evolved from thetribal and local laws in England. It began with common customs, but over time it involved the courtsin law makingthat was responsive to changes in society. In this way, the Anglo-Norman rulerscreated asystem of centralized courts that operated undera single set oflaws that replaced the ruleslaid downby earlier societies.
formed the basis of all Israelitelegislation. They can also be found in the laws of other ancient peoples.
refers to the entire body of French law, contained in fivecodes
dealing with civil,commercial, and criminal law.
*What formof law does Portugal have?
VOCABULARY: Concepts
Prejudice vs.Discrimination
Prejudice: 1. An adverse judgment or opinion formed beforehand orwithout knowledge or examinationof the facts; b. a preconceived preference or idea.2.The act or state of holding unreasonablepreconceived judgmentsor convictions. 3. Irrational suspicionsor hatred of a particular group, race, or religion.
Discrimination: 1. the act of discriminating(to distinguish by discerning or exposing differences).2. the quality or power of finelydistinguishing. 3. a: the act, practice, or an instance of discriminating categorically ratherthan individually b: prejudiced or prejudicial outlook, action, or treatment as in racialdiscrimination.
Discussion:
1. What’s thecritical difference betweenprejudice anddiscrimination?
2. Do you believe all human beings are prejudiced?
3. Do Portuguese people have prejudices towards a certain group of people or idea?
4. What are you prejudicedabout? Do you also discriminate? Answer honestly.
Some –isms to be awareof!
Give the definition for the following terms.
1. *Ableism (You may not find this entry in your dictionary. Make a guess!)
2. Ageism
3. Classism
4. Heterosexism/Homophobia
5. Anti-Semitism
6.Racism
7. Sexism
These are related vocabularyyoushould know. Oneformof the word is given. Fill in the blankswith the missing forms. The first word is donefor you.
NOUN / VERB / ADJECTIVEdiscrimination / to discriminate / discriminating,discriminatory
ethics / XXX
to value
Morality
to stereotype
Categorical
Discussion: Extreme Situation
Scenario: You are in a deserted island.There isa motorboat of your property and you are the only one whocan drive it. So it’s up to you todecidewhich peopleyou are goingto take with you in the boat. There isspace for only you and threemore people.Using the words above, discusswith your groupwho should be chosen. Herethey are:
1. a criminal / 2. a homosexual / 3. a prostitute4. a drug addict / 5. an abortionist / 6. a dying oldman
READING: Moral responsibilityvs. Legal Responsibility
Bluebird BarCase
Around 5 p.m. one evening, a man and his wife entered the Bluebird Bar. The man, Jack, ordereda whiskey for himself anda cola for hiswife, Gail. Jackcontinuedto order the same drinks about every half hour.
At 11 pm., the bar ownerrefused to serve Jack anymore drinks because Jack was extremely intoxicated andbothersome to othercustomers. Gail was used to Jack’s behavior and didn’t ask her husband to stop drinking.
“Are you driving home or should I callataxi?” the barowner askedGail. Jack shouted, “Getout of my face!” I’m drivinghome and neither of you can stop me!” Jack then shoved the owner aside and walked out the door. The owner just shrugged his shoulders and
walked off. Gail went to the pay phone in thecorner to call her sister for a ride.
As Jack left the bar, a manwalking by the barshouted to him, “Heybuddy, call a taxi!” WhenJack drove off,the man simply shook his heard andwalked down the street.
Meanwhile, Jane and Carl were havinga lover’s quarrel in the next corner of thebar. The quarrel soon escalated into a major fight and Carl struckJanesaying, “Don’tever tell me not to touch you again. I’ll show youwho’s boss here!” At the point, Jane, crying hysterically
and paying no attention at all to the traffic, ran into thestreet directlyin front of Jack’scar.
Jackwas not able to stop in time, and Jane waskilled instantly.
Discussion Questions:
1. In your personal opinion,who is at fault here (or most at fault)?
2. According to the law, who is at fault? The lawsaysthe following:
Every personwho is injured in person orproperty by any intoxicatedperson has aright of action for alldamages actually sustained, severally or jointly, against any licensee or permitee whosold andserved any beer, wine, or intoxicating liquor to the intoxicated person when the licensee or permiteeknewor should have known theperson was intoxicated. (IowaCode §
123.92Civil liability for saleand serviceof beer, wine, or intoxicating liquor).
3. Who should bear the moral responsibility?
4. How is moral and legal responsibility different?Which do you prefer?
VOCABULARY: Basic Terms
The followingterms introduce you to the law and basic legal terminology. Find thedefinition for each term.
authority / lawyers / govern / judge / rulelawyers / legal action / legal system / tribunal
legislationthe judiciarycourtlaw enforcement agency
1. : a body that is appointed to make a judgment or inquiry.
2. : a country’s body of judges.
3. : an act or acts passed by a law-makingbody.
4. : behavior recognized by acommunity as binding or enforceable by authority.
5. : legal proceedings.
6. : an official body that hasauthority to try criminals, resolvedisputes, ormake other legal decision.
7. : an organization responsible for enforcing the law, especially the police.
8. : a senior official in a courtof law.
9. : the body or systemof rules recognized by a community that isenforceable byestablishedprocess.
10. _: the control resulting fromfollowing acommunity’s system ofrules.
11. _: members ofthe legal profession.
12. _: to rule a society and control the behavior of its members.
13. _: term whichrefers to all professionals working in the legal profession; it does not refer to a specific job.
LISTENING
Listentotheconversationtwice.Thefirsttimeyoushouldjustlisten.Thesecondtimeyou should attempt to answer the following questions as the conversation is read to you.
1. Is this a classroom presentation?
2. Who tells everyone to sitdown?
3. Is this the first time thisgroup has met?
4. Why doesn’t the moderator introduce the speaker?
5. What does Professor Arm teach?Where?
6. What is Mr. Simone’s problem?
7. How does he correct theproblem?
8. Why is Mr. Simone talking about the origins of American law?
9. Is Mr. Simone an attorney?
10. What kindof American judges is Mr. Trommel writing about?
11. How is Mr. Trommel financing his work on his dissertation?
READING: Law& Justice
Vocabulary:You will need to the following words for the reading. Match the following:
1. / forbid / a. modify and amend2. / govern / b. ensure
3. / provide / c. observe, respect
4. / punish / d. deny
5. / obey / e. sentence
6. / deprive / f. regulate
7. / review / g. prohibit, ban
Comprehension & Discussion Questions: Based on the reading, answer the following questions.
1. What is thepurpose ofrules, whatever their kind?
2. What role do the courtsplay in a society?
3. What is meant by"ignorance of laws can deprive people of theirrights"?
4. Can you think of some exampleswhere natural environment affects the rules of society? Can you think of a human society or development that has not invented rules?
5. Do you think it's possible to rely strictly on justice in decidingwhat's right andwrong?
6. Have advancements inscience and technology affected laws?Provide examples.
Lawand Justice
Human beings have always lived together under rules of one kindoranother.Theserulesarelikelytobeinfluencedbynatureor thenaturalenvironmentofthesocietyinwhichpeoplelive,and the simplenaturalinstincteveryonehasforsurvival.Theymay be influencedbyreligiousorsecularbeliefs,andtheywillcaterforthe ideasofrightandwrongthathavebeendevelopedovertimetosuit the society we live in. All the rules, which are designed to improve our lives and protect us from harm, are called laws.
Thereare rulesthatarebasic,commonsenserules of everydaylife (forexample, wemustnotkillorrob),thatforbidthings whicheveryonethinksare plainlyormorallywrong.There are rules, whichgovernimportant thingsandrelationsinourparticular community,about which we have learnedfrom experience (for example,the driverandthepassengerinacarmustwearseatbelts, whichprovideprotection frominjury).Therearerules, whichhave graduallydevelopedovera period of manyyears,and have grownout of custom, which has settled as the accepted way of behavior.
Justice,onthe otherhand, isa difficultconcept, chiefly becauseeverybodyhasa differentsubjectiveidea whatitis,andit dependsonthesemoralprinciplesknownasethics,whichdifferfrom
person to person.
Onesimpleideaofjusticeistheupholding ofrights,andthe punishmentofwrongs,by the law. This iswhat we mean by fairness, anddealing withlegalissuesandproblemsaccordingtotherules that areexactlythesameforeveryone.Wehaveastrongideaofthe
«rulesofnaturaljustice»: thebasicrequirementsofafair,open hearing,impartialcourt(whetherjudgeorjury),givingeachsidean equalchancetostateitscaseandtocallevidenceinsupportofit, andlistening totheargumentsofeachsidebeforecomingtoa reasoned decision.Thisiswhatwe call thefairmannerof«doing justice according to law».
Anysocietyhasadutytoitscitizensto dothebesttoprovide themwithlaws, which,ifobeyed,will providethem withareasonably safeandtrouble-freeenvironment,andwithaframeworkinwhichto
livetheirlives.Societymustthereforeprovidecourtsthatareableto
dealwiththosewhobreakthelaw,andgiveindividual citizensa peacefulmeansofsettlingtheirdifferencesanddisputes.Theonly way of trying to put things right is for the courtsfirst to decide by fair procedures whathashappened andthen,ifthelaw hasbeen broken, todealfairlywiththose responsibilities forbreakingthelawandthose who have suffered because of it.
The law marksoutthe limits ofour powerofindividualsto controltheir affairs.Inourmodern society,ignoranceoflaw deprives peopleoftheirlegal rights. Therefore,knowledge oflawisthewayin which we cansafeguardour families, our possessions, and ourselves byassuringourselvesoftherightsandremedies thatthelegal system provides.
However, any system operated by human beings, with all our failings and despite all the safeguards, is fallible. To ensure that the legal system worksproperlyandfairly,itisalsoimportant to understandthatourlawsandlegal systemareforeverinneedof review and reform, to adapt them to thechanging needs of society.
rule
harm commonsense rule forbid
govern
provide protection injury
custom
ethics
uphold rights punish
hearing
state one'scase evidence argument decision
obey
break the law settle a dispute court
suffer deprive safeguard
remedy review
Module2
Introduction to Civil Law
Civil Law aims to regulate relations between individuals or between individuals and organizations. There are many branches of civil law.
Match thesubject areas inthe box withthe branchesof law below. Think of examples of real life cases thatwould fall under each branch of civil law.
agriculture / civil rights / divorce / environmental lawforeignrelations law product liability / joint venture propertytax / landlord-tenant unfair competition / pensions
Areas / Branches / Example
Accident andInjury compensation and prevention
ConstitutionalLaw, Individual Rights
Employment Law Enterprise Law Family Law Intellectual Property
International, Transnational, Comparative Law
Law relating to Commercial
Transactions
Law relating to Particular
Activities/Business Sectors
Property, Natural Resources,the
Environment
Taxation
LISTENING 1: Phone Conversation
Words tokeep in mind: venue, to file a claim,jurisdiction, discovery, dismissal, case
Answer the followingquestions after you’ve listened tothe conversation twice.
1) Who are the two peopletalking? What is the natureof their relationship?
2) What is the purpose of the man’s call?
3) What does the man mean by “speak English”?
4) What is “demurrer”?
5) Why doesthe woman think she can get the case dismissed? Choose a, b, or c. a) discovery material; b) lack of jurisdiction; c)changeof venue
6) What is the woman’s fax number?
Lawof Property, Natural Resources, the Environment
The main objective of this area of law is toensure thatthe environment is protected against both public and private actions that fail to take account of costs orharm inflictedon the eco- system.
The major concerns are listed in two columns. Matcha word on theleft with one on the right to form13 phrasesrelated to the law of property.
atomicwaters cleanwater cleanspecies endangered sources energy resources natural pollution navigable pollution noise forests ocean energy
oildumping pesticidedisposal tropicalcontrol waste air
Questions:
1. Which legislation prevents the destruction of large areas oftrees in the equatorial areas?
2. Which legislation protects the quality of the water that we drink?
3. Which legislationcontrols the application of chemicals in farming?
4. Which legislation prevents the disposal of rubbishat sea?
5. Which legislation protects our ears?
6. Which legislation protects those animals that arein danger of extinction?
* What are some critical environmental issues in Portugal?
* What is theKyoto Protocol? Is Portugal one of the signatory countries?
Intellectual Property
Intellectual property law is designed to promote theworldwide protection of bothindustrial property (inventions, trademarks, and designs)andcopyright materials(literary, musical, photographic,and other artistic works).
You should have a basic understandingof the following termsthat in one way or another deal with intellectual property. Be ready todiscuss themeaning andthe differences among them.
TrademarksPatentsCopyright (fair use)
READING: Read the following passageand answerquestions thatfollow. Payclose attention to the words in bold. Lookup the meaning andstudy them if they are new terms.
Napster is anonline musicservice that was originally afile sharing service created by Shawn Fanning. Napster made a major impact on theInternet scene during the year 2000. Its technology allowed musicfans toeasily share MP3 format song files with each other, thus leading to massivecopyright violations.
The originalNapsterwas first released in the fall of 1999 by college-dropout Shawn Fanning, whowanted an easier method of findingmusic.With the files obtained throughNapster, consumers could make their own compilation CD-Rs/albums for free and essentially not pay one cent of royalties tothe artist/composer or theestate of the artist/composer.
This raised the ire of several major recording companies, who almost immediately- in December 1999 -filed a class action suit against Napster. This gave Napstera great deal of publicity, and millions of users flockedtothe service. In 2000 Madonna got into the mix when one ofher singles leaked out on to the web prior to its commercial release causing widespreadmedia coverage. Napster use peaked with 13.6 million users in February 2001.
Supporters of Napster were puzzled at the time regarding the lawsuit. To them, it seemed that file sharing was a feature of the internet, and notNapster perse, Napster acting as essentially asearch engine. Many argued any attempt to shut down Napster would simply lead to people using a different mediumto exchange files over theinternet (as has arguably happenedwith peer-to-peer software like Audiogalaxy, Morpheus, Gnutella, andKaZaA).
In July 2001,a judge issued aninjunctionordering Napster'sserversshut down to prevent furthercopyright violations.On June 3 Napster filed for Chapter 11 protection under United States bankruptcy laws.
On June 25,2003, in alandmark decision that forever changed the face of online music services andmusic piracyitself, the RIAA turned thetablesnot onthe peer-to-peer services but on the computer usersthemselves and announced it would file civil lawsuits against them for engaging in illegal file sharing, and they made good on their word beginning in September of the same year.
FromWikipedia, the free encyclopedia (2004)
Comprehension Questions:
1) What wasNapster accused of doingwrong?
2) Who filed suit against Napster? What was this suit called?
3) Why was the ruling made in 2003socontroversial?
4) What is your personal opinion on this type of music sharing?
5) Why is music piracy such a big industry inPortugal?Do you think it’s an acceptable form of business orshouldit be more strictly prohibited?
6) Who orwhat do copyright laws protect?
Case Study:
Mehdi is an electrical engineer who hasbeenworkingat home for years on a new type of an electronic circuit. He beginsto produce and sell thesecircuits andmakes an enormous profit. Amir, another engineer, had previously patented aproduct that was substantially similar to Mehdi’s circuit. Mehdi is a very honest manand hadno idea that he was not theoriginal creator of thecircuit. Whatis to be done? Who is at fault?
Defamation
Defamation law addresses interferencewith the possession of good name and reputation. The mode of defamationcan be oral (slander) or written (libel).
FamilyLaw
Family Law isthe body of law that regulates family relationships,including marriage, divorce, the treatment of children, and money issues.
Below are the main areas that Family Law covers. Match the areaswith the correct text. Pay close attention to the words in bold. Lookup the meaning and study themif they are new terms.
will / childcustody / marriage / children’s rights / divorceadoption / estate planning / trust / insurance / beneficiary
trustee
1. : The process by which a legal parent-child relationship is created between individuals not biologically parent and child.
2. : The parents of a child born within a marriage arejoint guardians of that child and the rights ofboth parentsare equal.
3. : Children aregenerally given the basic rights of the constitution.
4. : As a result ofthis bothparties’ status becomes single again.
5. : The process by which an individual or family arranges the transfer of assetsin anticipation of death.The document that drawnup as aresult is called
.
6. Generally, a is a right in property (real or personal) which is held in a fiduciaryrelationshipby one party for the benefit of another. The
is the one who holds title to the property,and the
is the person who receives the benefits of the trust.
7. : While typesvary widely, there primary goal is toallocate the risks of a loss from the individual to a great number ofpeople.
8. : A contract based upon a voluntary private agreement by a man and a womanto become husband andwife.
***Writing Assignment (3 points)