Trial Starts
The first day of the trial has finally come. Marie and her defense team, Bob Levinson and Ellis Burks, arrive at the courthouse. Joey Lasso is waiting for them outside the courtroom. Together they enter, and take their places at the front table on the right. Meanwhile, the prosecution, led by prosecutor Adam Silver, is already seated at the front table on the left.
Suddenly, the twelve jurors enter the courtroom, enter the jury box and sit down quietly.
A few minutes later, the judge enters from a door behind the judge's bench. It is Judge Gelson. He is known for being a no-nonsense judge, and not very patient with lawyers who are not prepared.
We'll move to the opening statements from the prosecution and the defense...
Adam Silver: This is a simple case of assault and battery. It happened in a bar in South Philadelphia. Two groups of men became entangled in an altercation, and one person was assaulted. He is the plaintiff, Mr. Brian Carter. Mr. Carter's injuries include a broken nose and cheek bone, and a concussion. After the incident, an old fashioned bar brawl broke out, but was quickly halted by bar staff. The police arrived, took statements, and arrested Mr. Joseph Lasso for assault. He was taken into custody, and posted bail the next day. This heinous act was what is referred to as a sucker-punch. The plaintiff was in the midst of a verbal altercation with one Greg Moran, and out of the blue Mr. Carter was struck by Mr. Lasso, the defendant. There were many witnesses, and in fact we have a video of the incident. We'll show the video to you, and we'll hear from witnesses that this was a clear case of malicious battery, and the perpetrator should be punished to the extent the law allows. Please consider this charge for what it is, a vicious assault. Thank you.
Judge Gelson: Thanks Mr. Silver. Ms. Wiley, you are up.
Marie Wiley: Thank you your honor. Well, what the prosecution described was indeed partially correct. Mr. Lasso did strike Mr. Carter. But why? Was it a sucker-punch? In actuality, Mr. Lasso was defending his friend, Greg Moran. You see, Mr. Carter - you can see him in the gallery - he is a very big man. A pro baseball player. Very strong, 28 years old. Six foot four. And then there is Greg Moran, who is a small man standing 5 foot nine. When you look at the video, you will see that Mr. Carter is in the face of Mr. Moran, and actually pushes him. When Mr. Lasso saw that, his instincts told him to help his friend. To prevent him from being seriously injured by this hulk of a professional athlete. He was simply trying to protect his friend. He instinctively felt he had to intervene, and was triggered into acting when Mr. Carter pushed Mr. Moran. Looking at the jury... Loyalty. I think most people would think this is an admirable trait. I think you do too. Thank you your honor.
Judge Gelson: Thank you Ms. Wiley. The bailiff comes up to the side of the judge and whispers something in his ear. Ah, ok. Ok everyone, I have been informed that we need to break right here because there is going to be a fire drill in the building. I don't know why I am just finding out about this now. We'll continue this on Friday. Court adjourned.
Everyone gets up to leave. Mr. Carter, who was in the gallery, approaches the prosecutor...
Flash Card Drill
- The prosecution presented their case in such a way that was very confusing, leading to the case's dismissal. 検察は非常に紛らわしい方法で彼らの事件を提示し、事件の却下につながった。
- The prosecutor is a very experienced lawyer that prosecuted many cases before the defense attorney was even born. 検察官は、被告の弁護人が生まれる以前にすでに多くの事件を起訴した経験豊富な弁護士です。
- The courtroom was packed with spectators and TV cameras. I guess that's what happens when a famous person is on trial. 法廷は傍聴人とテレビカメラでいっぱいでした。有名人が裁判にかけられているとそうなると思います。
- The twelve jurors carefully listened to the prosecution's case but found it very weak. 12人の陪審員は検察の主張を注意深く聞いたが、それは非常に不十分と感じた。
- As the jurors approached the jury box, the judge admonished them for being late. 陪審員が陪審員席に近づくと、裁判官は彼らの遅刻について忠告した。
- The defendant was charged with assault and battery, which he denies. 被告は暴行殴打罪で起訴されたが、彼はそれを否定した。
- The best player on the football team suffered a concussion in the first half, and had to sit out the rest of the game. フットボールチームのベストプレイヤーは前半に脳震盪を起こし、ゲームの残りはずっと座って観ていなくてはなりませんでした。
- He was entangled in a legal mess that was going to be difficult to get out of. 彼は、抜け出すのが難しい法的な混乱に巻き込まれました。
- The perpetrator was arrested about an hour after the crime was committed. 犯人は犯罪が行われてから約1時間後に逮捕されました。
- The attack on the young man was as vicious as you will ever see. 若い男への攻撃は、これからも見る事はないほど悪質でした。
- In actuality, the amount of rain we received this year was below average. 実際、今年の雨量は平均を下回っていました。
- Charging straight for them at a slow speed was the massive hulk of an elephant. ゆっくりと彼らの方へにまっすぐに突撃してきたのは、巨大な象でした。
- Trump demands loyalty above all else, and will fire you if you are not loyal. トランプは何よりも忠誠心を要求し、忠誠心がなければ解雇します。
- His absolute loyalty and devotion to the company is admirable. 彼の絶対的な忠誠心と会社への献身は立派です。
- Our school had a fire drill this morning. We missed most of our classes, so it was great! 私たちの学校は今朝、火災訓練をしました。ほとんどのクラスに出なくて済んで、良かったです!
- When your mother says that you get all your best traits from her, she means you have the same charming smile and the same brilliant mind as she has. あなたがあなたのすべての最高の特性をお母さんから受け継いでいるとあなたのお母さんが言うとき、彼女はあなたが彼女と同じ魅力的な笑顔と同じ素晴らしい心を持っていることを意味してます。
- After the trial was adjourned, all the defense lawyers went out to get dinner together. 裁判が延期された後、すべての被告側弁護士は夕食を共にするために出て行きました。
- A brawl broke out in the restaurant parking lot. Five people were taken to the hospital. レストランの駐車場で乱闘が起こった。 5人が病院に運ばれた。
- The police took him into custody, and charged him with assault. 警察は彼を拘留し、暴行罪で起訴した。
- The malicious crime was described in today's newspaper. 悪意のある犯罪が今日の新聞に掲載されました。
- He instinctively ran in front of the car to protect the child from being hurt. 彼は子供を怪我から守る為本能的に車の前へ走った。
- She contacted her old boyfriend out of the blue. Even she did not really understand why. 彼女は突然、古いボーイフレンドに連絡を取りました。彼女自身でさえその理由を本当に理解していませんでした。
- One hour after he was arrested he was out on bail. Having a good lawyer helps. 彼が逮捕されてから1時間後、彼は保釈されました。良い弁護士がいると助かります。