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unconditional bail. However, the police may instead take the suspect to a
magistrate so that he remains in custody until he next appears before a
court. The magistrate may decide that it is not necessary to hold the
suspect in custody and may agree to unconditional bail, or the magistrate
may grant conditional bail - that is, release the suspect provided that he
puts up some money as security or agrees to surrender his passport or
some similar condition. As the lowest criminal court, a Magistrates Court
is empowered to hear certain cases only. Some minor cases, such as
parking violations, are dealt with only by the magistrates. Some serious
crimes, like murder, cannot be heard by the magistrates and must go to the
Crown Courts. And there are some offences where the defendant is given
the choice of having his case heard in the Magistrates Court or the Crown
Court. It takes much longer to have a case heard in the Crown Court, but
some defendants prefer it because the facts of the case are decided by a
jury, that is, ordinary members of the public.
In a Crown Court trial there are twelve jurors. These are ordinary
members of the public between the ages of 18 and 70 who are selected at
random. They are not paid but are given expenses while they are on jury
service, which is usually for about two weeks. Service is compulsory, and
it cannot normally be avoided without a good reason, such as illness. It is
not necessary for a juror to know anything about the law - indeed certain
people connected with the world of law, such as solicitors, are not allowed
to serve as jurors. This is because the job of the jury is to listen to the case
and to decide questions of fact. It is the judge's responsibility to guide
them on questions of law.
This contrast between law and fact is very important. If a man is on
trial for murder, for example, the judge will explain just what the crime of
murder means in English law and the prosecution has to prove. He will
explain how the trial will be conducted, summarize the evidence, and tell
the jurors what factors they should consider in making their decision.
These are questions of law. However, whether the defendant did in fact
commit murder or not is a question of fact to be decided by the jurors
themselves. It is necessary for at least ten of the twelve to agree.

Task 5. Read and translate the text in written form.

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