Text 6. The Right to Due Process of Law

I. Read and translate the text.

The right to due process of law protects personal freedom. An accused person has the right to phone his lawyer or relatives and tell them about his arrest. Besides the right to a lawyer, he also has the right to a jury, the right to know his charges, the right to be brought before a magistrate shortly after the arrest, the right to have bail and to call witnesses for the defence. He has the right to food, medical care and proper treatment. Police officers have no right to use force against the detained person. The accused cannot be tried twice for the same offence and punished in a cruel or unusual way.

II. Questions to be answered

1. What is the importance of the right to a due process of law?

2. What are the essential rights of an accused person?

Text 7. Parties to the Crime

I. Read and translate the text.

Those who commit a crime are called principals.

Those who advise or order the principal to commit a crime are called accessories.

Those who participate in the commission of a crime are called accomplices.

A person who helps the offender before the commission of a crime is an accessory before the fact.

A person who helps the offender after the commission of a crime is an accessory after the fact.

An accomplice is charged with the same offence as the principal offender.

II. Questions to be answered.

1. What offenders are called principals?

2. What is the role of accessories?

3. What is the function of accomplices?

4. What is the difference between an accessory before the fact and an accessory after the fact?

5. Are an accomplice and the principal offender charged differently?

Text 8. Criminal Procedure

I. Read and translate the text.

Criminal procedure is a set of rules that govern the administration of justice. The goal of criminal procedure is to enforce the constitutional rights of suspects and defendants.

Criminal procedure protects suspects from unreasonable searches and arrests and guarantees the right to due process of law (the right to a jury, to a lawyer, to a fair trial, the right against self-incrimination, the right to a plea bargain, and others).

II. Questions to be answered.

1. What is criminal procedure?

2. What is the aim of criminal procedure?

3. Who does criminal procedure protect and what does it guarantee?