A short discussion on the legal process.

1. Legalese

2. What is “Legalese”?
Legalese is an English term
first used in 1914 for legal
writing that is designed to be
difficult for common people
to read and understand.

3. Opening Discussion
•Do you know anyone who
has been to court?
•What are the courts like
in your country?
•Does the legal system
play a big role in your life?

4. Lawyer
A Lawyer, also known as an attorney, is an
expert on the law who helps people with their
legal problems. The role of lawyers in the legal
system is very different depending on the
country in which they practice law.
A lawyer can help you if you want to sue
someone (take them to court), or they can
defend you if someone else sues you. Lawyers
are also very important in business because they
can legal contracts and agreements.

5. Judge
A Judge is someone who is in charge of
a courtroom. In many countries, a
judge will try cases and give the
verdict. In other places, Judges are in
charge of court cases, but the verdict is
decided by a jury.
Sometimes a judge will also sentence
criminals if they are convicted, even if a
jury decided the verdict.
In some countries there is only one
judge in the courtroom, in others there
might be several on the same trial.

6. Jury
A Jury is a group of people who sometimes decide the verdict of court cases.
Unlike Lawyers and Judges, Juries are composed of average people with no
special legal knowledge or training. The reason for this is that some people
believe that they should be judged by their peers –people just like themselves.

7. What do you think?
• Have you ever hired or worked with a lawyer?
• Do you know anyone who practices law?
• If you were on trial for murder, would you
rather be tried by a judge or a jury?
• Do you trust lawyers? Do you think they are
clever or dishonest?

8. Lawsuit
“Lawsuit” is a noun for what happens when one
person sues another person and takes them to
court. The person who takes the other to court
is the plaintiff, the person being sued is the
defendant.
People may go to court for many reasons. They
might to try to get money back from someone
who has cheated them or damaged their
property. Another reason they might go to court
is to solve a dispute or disagreement over
business or employment issues. If the defendant
loses the case, the Judge may award damages to
the plaintiff –which means that the defendant
will have to pay them money.

9. Trial
A criminal trial happens when the police
think that someone has broken the law.
After they are arrested the defendant is put
on trial. The lawyer who works to get the
defendant punished is the prosecutor.
When a jury decides the verdict of a case, it
is called a jury trial. When the verdict is
decided by a judge, it is called a bench trial.
If the judge or jury decides that the
prosecution has enough evidence, they may
convict the defendant. If the evidence is not
strong enough, the defendant may be
acquitted.
“Justice is blind.”

10. Hearing
In some countries there is a
hearing before the defendant is
put on trial. During the hearing,
the judge decides whether or
not the prosecutor’s case is
good enough to go through with
a trial, otherwise the defendant
is set free. Hearings are often
much shorter than trials.

11. Bail
In some countries, if the judge decides at
the hearing that a trial should be held, they
will set bail -an amount of money the
defendant can pay to be released from jail
until their trail. If the defendant shows up to
their trail, they can get their money back, if
they try to escape, they will lose the bail
money.
In the United States, the defendant can go to a bail bond agent, also
known as a bail bondsman, who will post bail for the defendant if they can
not afford to pay the bail themselves. If the defendant doesn’t show up to
the trial, the bail bondsman must catch them and take them to
jail, otherwise they will lose the money they used to post bail.

12. Courtroom
Both criminal trials and lawsuits are
held in a courtroom at the
courthouse.
Besides the judge, jury and
lawyers, there will often be a bailiff –
a police officer who brings criminals
into court and protects everyone
from danger.
There is also often a court reporter
who records and writes down
everything that happens during the
trial. These records are often
published and sent to law libraries
so that judges and lawyers can study
them.

13. What do you think?
• What is the most famous criminal trial that
you can think of?
• Should judges decide the verdict of cases
based on cases that have happened in the
past?
• Do you think that justice is blind? Are
important people treated differently in court
than other people?