All the verbs in the box relate to legal matters. Use them in the correct forms to complete the sentences.

1. After six hours of questioning the accused man ______ .

2. The government _______ an amnesty to all political prisoners.

3. Her boss ______ her of stealing 250 dollars.

4. The secret police ______ him for six months in a high security jail.

5. We ______ the best commercial lawyer we could find to represent us but we still lost the case.

6. The prisoner _______ guilty to all charges.

7. In August they ______ him with murder.

8. The policeman stopped the car and _____ the driver.

9. The president ______ the opposition leader from prison.

10. The court _____ him 2,500 dollars for obtaining money by false pretenses.

11. After consideration, the plaintiff ______ the case against his neighbor.

12. The customs ______ the shipment of books.

13. He ______ six months in a local prison.

14. The crown court ______ the plaintiff 75,000 dollars in damages plus costs.

15. Two of the men were sent to prison, but the judge ______ the third.[27]

6. Match the verbs on the left with the nouns on the right to make ten pairs. Some verbs match with more than one noun:

Make up sentences of your own, using the pairs you got.

Complete these sentences using the pairs from the exercise above. You may have to make changes to fit the grammar of the sentences. The first one has been made for you as an example.

1. You must know that you are breaking the law when you park on the pavement.

2. The merger will only go ahead if the two companies can ______ they are both happy with it.

3. After two hours of deliberation the jury _______ of not guilty.

4. We are going to _____ with a revolutionary new product next month.

5. A good accountant can save you money by finding ways to ________ .

6. We have _______ for the prosecution, which depends on an unreliable identification.

7. When she was ______ he contradicted his earlier testimony.

8. I am innocent, I did not ______ you accuse me of.

9. During the recent debate on this matter Mr. Allen failed to ______: he is a director of the company bidding for the contract.

10. Most solicitors do not ______ for the first consultation. [28]

8. Put each of the words in the box in its correct place in the passage below:

1) If you want legal advice in Britain, you go to a ______.

2) At the end of the ______, the judge ordered twelve men and women of the ______ to retire and consider their _______, guilty or not guilty.

3) Men and women who look after prisoners in prison are called prison officers or _______ .

4) If a person dies in unusual circumstances, an _______ is held at a special court, and the ‘judge’ is called a _______ .

5) A policeman who investigates serious crimes is called a _______ . He wears ________ , not uniform.

6) In some countries murderers are executed but other countries have abolished the _______ . [29]

9. Read the article below and find words that match these definitions:

1) A person who takes another person in court

2) A financial agreement

3) Asking a law court to change its decision

4) Taking a person to court to get money from them because they have done something bad to you

5) Money that is paid because you have done something bad to another person

6) Extreme unhappiness

A grandmother from Kansas City is suing the Florida theme park because she says that one of the attractions is too frightening. The plaintiff, Mrs. Darlene Joel refused the offer of a court settlement. She has asked for $15,000 in damages for the emotional distress she suffered. However, the court is expected to turn down Mrs. Joel’s claim in the judgment later today. Her lawyers are already planning an appeal.