Lesson 1. Discutiendo un caso legal en las noticias

Lenguaje legal.

• embezzling

• jury

• found him guilty

• sentenced him to

• 20 years in prison

• judge

Before the trial

There are many steps to bringing someone to trial. First, the accused is arrested and charged with a crime.

• The police arrested her in January.

• He was charged with embezzlement.

The trial

The main people in a trial are the judge, the jury, the attorneys and the person charged with a crime. The jury decides whether the accused is guilty or not guilty. If the defendant is found guilty, the judge decides on the punishment.

• His attorney is very famous.

• The jury found him guilty of theft.

• The judge sentenced him to 25 years in prison.

• The accused man maintained his innocence.

Language note: Another word for attorney is lawyer.

Adding detail with '-ing' verbs

You can add more detail to a description by using -ing verbs. Study the examples. Notice how and is used before the last -ing verb each time.

• The man is charged with robbing the store, assaulting the owner and running off with all the money that was in the till.

• The woman was seen jumping over a fence, running down the street and getting into a taxi.

• The gang of thieves was caught running out of the bank, jumping on motorbikes and trying to get away with the money.

Focusing on the accused

When people talk about law cases, they often focus on the accused. Use was + past participle for crimes in the past. Compare the two sentences below.

• The police arrested Jenny Jones for assault.

• Jenny Jones was arrested for assault.

We often use phrases with -ing to explain what the accused did.

• Diane Bates was accused of selling fake stocks.

• Terry Jackson was caught while speeding down Highway 56.

Here are some more examples of statements about law cases. Notice the prepositions after the verbs.

• He was charged with embezzling money.

• Martina was found not guilty of killing her husband.

• Max was seen entering the bank just before the robbery.

• Rob was convicted of perjury.

• Ed was sentenced to life in prison.