Module 6 Resources

⚖️ Crimes and Punishments Vocabulary

🟢 Level C1: Advanced

Focus: General criminal acts, legal processes, and common terms for consequences.

1. Phrasal Verbs (C1)

• Rule out

  • Meaning: To exclude a possibility or suspect.

  • Example: Police were unable to rule out the possibility that the victim knew the perpetrator.

• Get away with

  • Meaning: To escape punishment for a crime or wrongdoing.

    
    

  • Example: The public was outraged when the financial mogul seemed to get away with the massive fraud.

• Tip off

  • Meaning: To give someone, especially the police, secret information about a crime.

    
    

  • Example: An anonymous source tipped off the authorities about the illegal operation happening in the warehouse.

• Hand over

  • Meaning: To give or relinquish control of someone (a suspect) or something (evidence) to another person or authority.

    
    

  • Example: The international court demanded that the nation hand over the indicted war criminals immediately.

• Crack down on

  • Meaning: To start dealing with bad or illegal behavior in a more severe way.

  • Example: The government has promised to crack down on organized crime and corruption.

    
    

2. Idioms (C1)

• Beyond a shadow of a doubt

  • Meaning: With absolutely no uncertainty; certain.

  • Example: The jury must believe the defendant is guilty beyond a shadow of a doubt to convict.

• Take the law into one's own hands

  • Meaning: To punish someone or exact justice without calling the police or using the official legal system.

  • Example: The minister warned citizens not to take the law into their own hands despite their anger over the verdict.

• On the wrong side of the law

  • Meaning: Engaging in illegal activities.

  • Example: After two minor arrests, the teenager realized he was heading on the wrong side of the law.

• Do time

  • Meaning: To serve a sentence in prison.

  • Example: He had to do time for his involvement in the sophisticated money laundering scheme.

• Make an example of

  • Meaning: To punish someone severely as a warning to others.

  • Example: The judge decided to make an example of the repeat offender to deter similar behavior.

    
    

3. Nouns (C1)

• Homicide

  • Meaning: The killing of one person by another (can be legal or illegal).

  • Example: The district attorney announced that the investigation was now being treated as a suspicious homicide.

• Jurisdiction

  • Meaning: The official power to make legal decisions and judgments.

  • Example: Because the crime crossed state lines, multiple police forces had joint jurisdiction.

• Testimony

  • Meaning: A formal written or spoken statement, especially one given in a court of law.

  • Example: The eyewitness provided crucial testimony that linked the suspect to the scene.

• Plea

  • Meaning: A formal statement by or on behalf of a defendant or prisoner, stating guilt or innocence in response to a charge.

  • Example: The defendant changed his initial plea from not guilty to guilty in exchange for a reduced sentence.

• Inmate

  • Meaning: A person confined to an institution, especially a prisoner in a prison.

  • Example: Rehabilitation programs are offered to all eligible inmates to prepare them for life after release.

    
    

4. Adjectives (C1)

• Heinous

  • Meaning: (Of a criminal act) utterly odious or wicked.

  • Example: The public demanded a life sentence for the perpetrator of such a heinous crime.

• Culpable

  • Meaning: Deserving blame; guilty.

  • Example: The court found the corporation directly culpable for the environmental damage caused by their negligence.

• Mitigating

  • Meaning: Making a crime or offense less severe or serious.

  • Example: The defense lawyer presented several mitigating circumstances, including the client’s severe mental health issues.

• Forensic

  • Meaning: Relating to or denoting the application of scientific methods to the investigation of crime.

  • Example: Advances in forensic science have led to the reopening of many cold cases.

    
    

• Unanimous

  • Meaning: (Of two or more people) fully in agreement; (of a verdict) agreed upon by all jurors.

  • Example: After three days of deliberation, the jury returned a unanimous guilty verdict.

    
    

5. Verbs (C1)

• Indict

  • Meaning: To formally accuse of or charge with a serious crime.

  • Example: The grand jury voted to indict the former mayor on three counts of public corruption.

• Prosecute

  • Meaning: To institute legal proceedings against (a person or organization).

  • Example: The state decided to prosecute the teenager as an adult given the gravity of the offense.

• Inflict

  • Meaning: To cause (something unpleasant or painful) to be suffered by someone or something.

  • Example: The judge ruled that the maximum penalty was necessary given the pain inflicted on the victims.

• Apprehend

  • Meaning: To arrest (someone) for a crime.

  • Example: Federal agents were able to apprehend the fugitive near the border crossing.

• Acquit

  • Meaning: To free someone from a criminal charge by a verdict of not guilty.

  • Example: Despite the circumstantial evidence, the jury chose to acquit the defendant.

    
    

🟣 Level C2: Proficiency

Focus: Specialized legal concepts, deep analysis of criminal motivation, and policy debate on justice.

1. Phrasal Verbs (C2)

• Elicit (something) from

  • Meaning: To evoke or draw out (a response, answer, or fact) from someone.

  • Example: Investigators used sophisticated questioning techniques to elicit key details from the hesitant witness.

• Stamp out

  • Meaning: To suppress or put an end to (something bad) with force.

  • Example: A specialized unit was formed with the aim of stamping out cybercrime in the country.

• Tied up (in litigation)

  • Meaning: Occupied with or involved in legal matters for an extended period.

  • Example: The company's assets remained tied up in litigation while the fraud case proceeded.

• Be in cahoots with

  • Meaning: To be secretly involved with another person or group, typically in a dishonest or illicit activity.

  • Example: It was discovered that several police officers were in cahoots with the local drug cartel.

• Hand down

  • Meaning: To announce a decision or judgment, especially a legal one.

  • Example: The Supreme Court is expected to hand down its ruling on the controversial constitutional amendment next week.

    
    

2. Idioms & Collocations (C2)

• The letter of the law

  • Meaning: The literal meaning of the law, as opposed to its spirit or intent.

  • Example: The ruling technically followed the letter of the law but many felt it ignored the moral intent behind the statute.

• In perpetuity

  • Meaning: Forever; for an indefinitely long period.

  • Example: The maximum sentence for the crime was life imprisonment, meaning detention in perpetuity.

• Premeditated murder

  • Meaning: Murder that was planned in advance (a legal term indicating a higher degree of guilt).

  • Example: The prosecution successfully argued that the attack was a cold, calculated act of premeditated murder.

• Due process

  • Meaning: Fair treatment through the normal judicial system, especially as a citizen's entitlement.

  • Example: The defense claimed that their client was denied due process when vital evidence was withheld.

• The presumption of innocence

  • Meaning: The principle that one is considered innocent unless proven guilty.

  • Example: Every individual arrested, regardless of the charge, is entitled to the presumption of innocence.

    
    

3. Nouns (C2)

• Amnesty

  • Meaning: An official pardon granted to a group of people who have committed political offenses.

  • Example: The government declared a partial amnesty for those who committed minor political crimes during the civil conflict.

• Restitution

  • Meaning: The restoration of something lost or stolen to its proper owner; recompense for injury or loss.

  • Example: In addition to the jail sentence, the court ordered the defendant to pay full restitution to the victims.

• Penology

  • Meaning: The study of the punishment of crime and of prison management.

  • Example: Modern penology often emphasizes rehabilitation over purely punitive measures.

• Incarceration

  • Meaning: The state of being confined in prison; imprisonment.

    
    

  • Example: Critics point to the high cost and low effectiveness of mass incarceration as a deterrent.

• Recourse

  • Meaning: A source of help in a difficult situation; a right to demand compensation or payment.

  • Example: Victims of police misconduct have little legal recourse without substantial and convincing evidence.

    
    

4. Adjectives (C2)

• Exigent

  • Meaning: Pressing; demanding (often used in legal contexts for circumstances that allow police action without a warrant).

  • Example: The pursuit of a fleeing felon created exigent circumstances, allowing the officers to enter the building.

• Compelling

  • Meaning: Evoking interest, attention, or admiration in a powerfully irresistible way; convincing.

  • Example: The prosecution failed to present a single piece of compelling physical evidence.

• Retributive

  • Meaning: (Of a legal system or punishment) characterized by the idea that offenders should suffer punishment equivalent to the seriousness of their offense.

  • Example: The debate over capital punishment centers on the balance between retributive and rehabilitative justice.

• Egregious

  • Meaning: Outstandingly bad; shocking.

  • Example: The judge denounced the defendant's actions as an egregious abuse of public trust.

• Peremptory

  • Meaning: (Especially of a person's manner or actions) insisting on immediate attention or obedience; (of a legal challenge) used to reject a prospective juror without giving a reason.

  • Example: Each side was granted a limited number of peremptory challenges during the jury selection process.

    
    

5. Verbs (C2)

• Extradite

  • Meaning: To hand over (a person accused or convicted of a crime) to the jurisdiction of the foreign state in which the crime was committed.

  • Example: Following years of diplomatic negotiation, the country agreed to extradite the suspect to face trial abroad.

• Vitiate

  • Meaning: To spoil or impair the legal quality or efficiency of (something).

  • Example: The discovery of misconduct by the lead detective threatens to vitiate the entire case.

• Inculpate

  • Meaning: To make (someone) appear guilty of a crime or wrongdoing; to charge with a crime.

  • Example: The newly discovered emails clearly inculpate the CEO in the scheme.

• Suborn

  • Meaning: To bribe or otherwise induce (someone) to commit an unlawful act such as perjury.

  • Example: The defense attorney was disbarred for attempting to suborn a key witness.

• Recalibrate

  • Meaning: To adjust or reset (a method, policy, or system) in response to new information.

  • Example: The Justice Department has been urged to recalibrate its sentencing guidelines to focus more on rehabilitation.