The letter of the law CAMBRIDGE ENGLISH VOCABULARY IN USE ADVANCED

CAMBRIDGE ENGLISH VOCABULARY IN USE ADVANCED

UNIT 43

The letter of the law

A	Legal verbs to bend the law/rules: to break the law/rules in a way that is considered not to be very harmful to contravene a law: to break a law (noun = contravention) to infringe a law/rule: to break a law/rule (noun = infringement) to impeach a president/governor: to make a formal statement saying that a person in public office has committed a serious offence (noun = impeachment) to lodge an appeal: to make an official request that a previous judgement should be changed to uphold/overturn a verdict: to say that a previous decision in court was correct/incorrect to pervert the course of justice: to make it difficult for justice to be done (noun = perversion) to quash a conviction: to change a previous official decision that someone was guilty to set a precedent: to establish a decision which must usually, in English law, be taken into account in future decisions to award/grant custody to: to give one parent or adult the main responsibility for a child, especially after separation or divorce to annul a(n) agreement/marriage/law: to declare that it no longer exists and never existed (noun = annulment) to sue someone: to take legal action against someone to allege: /əˈledʒ/ to say that someone has done something illegal without giving proof (noun = allegation) to amend a law: to make changes to a law (noun = amendment)
B	Crimes Crime meaning verb criminal discrimination unfair treatment on grounds of sex, race or nationality discriminate (against) embezzlement stealing money that belongs to an organisation that you work for embezzle embezzler harassment putting undue pressure on someone, e.g. for sexual reasons or to get a debt repaid harass insider trading/ dealing illegal buying and selling of shares by someone who has specialist knowledge of a company do/practise insider trading/ dealing insider trader/ dealer money laundering moving money obtained illegally so that its origin cannot be traced launder money money launderer perjury lying when under oath commit perjury perjurer stalking following someone or giving them unwanted or obsessive attention stalk stalker trespass/ trespassing go onto someone else’s land without permission trespass trespasser
C	Words and expressions with law A law-abiding person is someone who always obeys the law. A law-breaker is someone who – often and deliberately – does not obey the law. If you take the law into your own hands, you do something illegal to punish someone because you feel the legal system will not punish that person. If you lay down the law, you say with great force what you think should happen. If someone is a law unto himself/herself, he or she behaves in a way which is independent and not the way in which most other people behave.

EXERCISES

43.1	Choose the correct verbs from A to fill the gaps. Put the verb in the correct form. 1 The governor on the province was _______________ for wrongful use of state money. 2 The prisoner decided to _______________ an appeal against the court’s decision. 3 The appeal court _______________ the verdict of the lower court and the prisoner was released. 4 In English law, a previous legal decision usually_______________  a precedent for future decisions. 5 Judges often _______________ custody to the mother rather than the father. 6 I’m not asking you to break the rules, just to _______________ them a little. 7 You _______________ my legal rights by not allowing me to vote. 8 Witnesses charged with perjury are accused of _______________ the course of justice. 9 The marriage was _______________ because the man had never properly divorced his first wife. 10 The Supreme Court _______________ the murder conviction and the man was freed.
43.2	Which of the crimes in B might each of these people be charged with? 1 A camper who spent a night on a farmer’s land without asking permission. 2 A businessman who diverted funds from the account of the company he worked for into his own personal account. 3 An employer who gave a job to a man although he was less suitable for the post than a woman applicant. 4 A witness who gave false evidence in court. 5 A person who kept making inappropriate comments about a colleague’s personal appearance. 6 A board member who took advantage of what they knew about the business’s plans to make a profit on the stock market. 7 A person who follows someone or calls them every day and buys them gifts even though they are not in a relationship.
43.3	Choose a noun from each of these verbs to complete each sentence. impeach allege contravene annul harass infringe pervert amend 1 Parliament is currently discussing a number of ___________ to the current laws on citizenship. 2 Amy took her employer to court for ___________ in the workplace. 3 Some people consider ___________ of others’ rights as being as serious a crime as theft. 4 By taking on work for a competitor Nathan was in ___________ of the terms of his contract. 5 The trial was criticised by many as a ___________ of justice. 6 To suggest that Leah took the money is a very serious ___________. 7 The circumstances are such that I think the judge may agree to a(n) ___________  of their marriage. 8 The ___________ of a president has only taken place a couple of times in US history.
43.4	Choose an expression from C to complete each sentence. 1 You should let the police deal with the situation – it’s far too risky to ________________. 2 Sam started getting into trouble when he got in with a gang of habitual ________________. 3 You shouldn’t start ________________on your first day in a new job. 4 Masha will never be able to get Vadim to conform – he’s ________________. 5 Isabelle is far too to ________________agree to bring extra cigarettes into the country.
43.4	Over to you Look at the website www.britishlaw.org.uk to find out more about the law in the UK. Note down at least ten more useful legal words and expressions.

ANSWER KEY

43.1 1 impeached 2 lodge 3 overturned 4 sets 5 award/grant 6 bend 7 are infringing / infringed 8 perverting 9 annulled 10 quashed 43.2 1 trespass / trespassing 2 embezzlement 3 discrimination 4 perjury 5 harassment 6 insider trading / dealing 7 stalking 43.3 1 amendments 2 harassment 3 infringement 4 contravention 5 perversion 6 allegation 7 annulment 8 impeachment 43.4 1 You should let the police deal with the situation – it’s far too risky to take the law into your  own hands. 2 Sam started getting into trouble when he got in with a gang of habitual law-breakers. 3 You shouldn’t start laying down the law on your first day in a new job. 4 Masha will never be able to get Vadim to conform – he’s a law unto himself. 5 Isabelle is far too law-abiding to agree to bring extra cigarettes into the country.