An Analysis of Legal English.docx

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AnAnalysisofLegalEnglish

毕业论文（设计）

题目AnAnalysisofLegalEnglish

intheAmericanCourtDrama

指导老师刘冬梅

专业班级英语文化方向4班

姓名刘星

学号201311010401

2015年11月11日

AnAnalysisofLegalEnglish

intheAmericanCourtDrama

浅析美国法庭剧中的法律英语

Induction

Overthepast30years’OpenPolicy,Chinahasplayedamoreandmoreimportantroleintheinternationalcommunication.AnumberofoverseafilmshavespreadtoChinawhiledemandforEnglishmajor’sstudentsisincreasinginarapidway.Especially,sincewejoinedtheWTO,thosepeoplewhoknowEnglishaswellasmastersomelawsaremorepopularandcompetent.InmostofcollegesofChina,thereisacourse-LegalEnglishforEnglishlearners.Therefore,studyonlegalEnglishinthefilmisobviouslymuchmoresignificant.

Thereisnodoubtthatthefilmisoneofthegreatestinventioninthe20thcentury.Ithasbecomeaverypopularformofentertainmentamongthepublic.Meanwhile,moviescouldprovideinamorerelaxingandcomfortablewayanaccesstoforeigncultures.Andwhatmayhaveseemedsomysteriousorevenridiculousinbooksbeforegraduallybecamerelativelyeasierfortheaudiencetounderstandandacceptastheydidn’thavetoformtheimagethemselvesaccordingtotheirownunderstandingbutcanviewtheobjectinamorespecificall-aroundway.What’smore,asmoviesaregenerallypublicoriented,itismoreconvenientforpeopletohaveadiscussionofawiderscope.Inthissense,moviesgetmoreefficiencyinpromotingideas,images,theoriesandsoon.LegalEnglishhasbeenreferredtoasa"Sublanguage".Itisasubjecttoresearchforlegaldocuments,courtpleadings,lawsandlegalcorrespondence.Now,duetothespreadofLegalEnglishasthepredominantlanguageofinternationalbusiness,aswellasitsroleasalegallanguagewithintheEuropeanUnion,legalEnglishisnowaglobalphenomenon.Inthisageofinformationandtechnology,thetrialfilm,alsocalledthecourtroomdrama,isagoodwindowforustoknowaboutlegalEnglish.Herearesomeawesomedramasforyou:

12 Angry Men，A Man for All Seasons，Anatomy of a Murder，Inherit the Wind，The Trial，The Wrong ManandTo Kill a Mockingbirdandsoon.Thus,themovieexpandeditsownrolefromthesoleentertainertoabodyasculturecarrier,whichbringsforthanotherproblemforaudiencetoresolve,theanalysisoffilms.

Forme,ImainlytakeexamplesoftwelveAngryMen,PhiladelphiaandToKillaMockingbirdtohelpmeexplainsomeconceptionsofLegalEnglishofAmerica.Iwouldliketostatemyarticleaccordingthefollowingthreeaspects:

whatisTwelveAngryMen,PhiladelphiaandToKillaMockingbird,modernjurytrailofAmericaandTheAmericanlegalsystemandprinciplesinthesefilms.Finally,weshouldstresstheseimportantjudgerulesagain:

JuryTrial,First-degreemurder,Unanimousverdict,Presumptionofinnocence,whoclaim,whoproofandReasonabledoubt.Especially,makinggooduseoftheseideasinourjudiciarymustmakeabiginfluence.

1.JuryTrialPresentedintheFilmTwelveAngryMen

Twelveangrymenwasmadeintofilmin1957inAmericaandbecomeamust-readpassageinthetextbookintheuniversitynowinChina.Nowadays,moreandmorestudentsconcernedabouteconomymuchmorethanpolitics.Someoneevenmisunderstandsdemocracyandautocracy.Studyingitnotonlyaddsthelawknowledgetous,butalsobuildsupourawarenessofhumanrights.Inthispart,Iwillintroducethetwelveangrymenclearlybythewritingbackgroundandtheoriginalstory.Thewriterhadexperiencedmanytrialsonthecourtandcriticizedunreasonablesystemoflaw.Twelveangrymentellsthecourtstoryofaboywhowasaccusedofmurderingandimplysusatruthoftrail.

1.1WriterandSocialBackground

ReginaldRose （December10,1920–April19,2002）wasan American film and television writermostwidelyknownforhisworkinthe earlyyearsoftelevisiondrama.Rose'sworkismarkedbyitstreatmentofcontroversialsocialandpoliticalissues.His realistic approachhelpedcreatethe sliceoflife schooloftelevision drama,whichwasparticularlyinfluentialintheanthologyprogramsofthe1950s.Hewrotethe12hungrymenandmadeasuccessatthesameyear.Hesaidhewroteitbasedonanexperienceofbeingjurorinthecourt.Asweallknow,Americahasstoodaspecialera;sincetheSecondWorldWarwasoverin1945.ItwascertainthatAmericawasexperiencingKoreanWar,Anti-communismMovementandCivilRightMovementaswell.ItwasnecessaryforAmericatodosomereformsofEconomy,politicsandculture,evenJudiciary.

1.2TheOriginalStoryofthePlay

12AngryMenisaplaywhichwasmadeintoafilmin1957.ItmainlyexploredtheAmericanjurysystemandthelegaljustice.ThefilmwontheGoldenBearAwardinBerlinFilmFestivalin1957andwasnominatedforBestPictureAwardinOscarFilmFestivalin1958.Itisfamousas“unbeatenclassic"inthehistoryofthecinemainAmerica.12HungryMantellsastoryofaboyfromtheslumswhoisaccusedofmurderinghisfatherandwillbesentencedtodeath.Witnessesandmurderweaponshavebeenreferringtotheboy’sguiltyincourt.

12strangers,peopleofdifferentprofessionsconsistofthejuryandtheydiscussthecaseinthejuryroomuntiltheyhaveanagreement.Everycharacterinthefilmhashispersonalityandcharacteristics.Inadditiontothejurornumbereight-arationalengineerofintegrity,otherscontendthatthecriminalfactsareveryclearandthatboyisguiltybeforetheformaldiscussion.No.8jurorproposedhisown“reasonabledoubts”topersuadetheotherjurorspatiently.

Afterthedebateagainandagain,moreandmorepeoplethinkthatthecasehasalotofdoubts.Ifeveryonehasirresponsiblyvoteda"guilty",thelifeoftheyoungmanwillallberuined.

Intheend,throughavarietyofdifferentoutlooksonlifeandthewayofthinkingofconflicts,allmembersofthejurycasthissacredvoteandmakeaverdictofnotguiltyfortheboy.

2.OpeningStatementRevealedintheFilmPhiladelphia

Anopeningstatementisgenerallythefirstoccasionthatthetrieroffacthastohearfromalawyerinatrial,asidepossiblyfromquestioningduringvoirdire.Theopeningstatementisgenerallyconstructedtoserveasa"roadmap"forthefact-finder.Thisisespeciallyessential,inmanyjurytrials,sincejurorsknownothingatallaboutthecasebeforethetrial.Thoughsuchstatementsmaybedramaticandvivid,theymustbelimitedtotheevidencereasonablyexpectedtobepresentedduringthetrial.Attorneysgenerallyconcludeopeningstatementswithareminderthatattheconclusionofevidence,theattorneywillreturntoaskthefact-findertofindinhisorherclient'sfavor.AndPhiladelphiaisa1993AmericandramafilmandoneofthefirstmainstreamHollywoodfilmstoacknowledgeHIV/AIDS,homosexuality,andhomophobia.ItwaswrittenbyRonNyswaner,directedbyJonathanDemmeandstarsTomHanksandDenzelWashington.Inthisfilm,thereare2partsaboutopeningstatement:

oneisbynegrolawyer,JoeMiller,another,bywhitelawyer,BelindaCo-nine.Bothofthemperfectwell.

1.1TheOriginalStoryoftheFilm

AndrewBeckettisaSeniorAssociateatthelargestcorporatelawfirminPhiladelphia.BecketthideshishomosexualityandhisstatusasanAIDSpatientfromtheothermembersofthelawfirm.OnthedayBeckettisassignedthefirm'snewestandmostimportantcase,apartnerinthefirmnoticesalesiononBeckett'sforehead.AlthoughBeckettattributesthelesiontoaracquetballinjury,itisactuallyduetoKaposi'sSarcoma,aformofcancermarkedbymultipletumorsonthelymphnodesandskin.

Shortlythereafter,Beckettstayshomefromworkforseveraldaystotrytofindawaytohidehislesions.ThefollowingdayBeckettisfiredbythefirm'spartners.

Beckettbelievesthatsomeonedeliberatelyhidhispaperworktogivethefirmanexcusetofirehim,andthatthefiringisactuallyasaresultofhisdiagnosiswithAIDS.Afterdecliningtotakethecase,Millerimmediatelyvisitshisdoctortofindoutifhecouldhavecontractedthedisease.Disgustedbytheotherpeople'sbehavior,MillerapproachesBeckett,reviewsthematerialBecketthasgathered,andtakesthecase.

Asthecasegoesbeforethecourt,thepartnersofthefirmtakethestand,eachclaimingthatBeckettwasincompetentandthathehaddeliberatelytriedtohidehiscondition.ThedefenserepeatedlysuggeststhatBecketthadinvitedhisillnessthroughhishomosexualactsandwasthereforenotavictim.Inthecourseoftestimony,itisrevealedthatthepartnerwhohadnoticedBeckett'slesionhadpreviouslyworkedwithawomanwhohadcontractedAIDSafterabloodtransfusionandsoshouldhaverecognizedthelesionasrelatingtoAIDS.Accordingtothatpartner,thewomanwasaninnocentvictim,unlikeBeckett,andfurthertestifiedthathedidnotrecognizeBeckett'slesions.Toprovethatthelesionswouldhavebeenvisible,MillerasksBecketttounbuttonhisshirtwhileonthewitnessstand,revealingthathislesionswereindeedvisibleandrecognizableassuch.

Becketteventuallycollapsesduringthetrial.Duringhishospitalization,thejuryvotesinhisfavor,awardinghimbackpay,damagesforpainandsuffering,andpunitivedamages.ThemovieendswithareceptionatBeckett'shomefollowingthefuneral,wheremanymourners,includingMiller,viewhomemoviesofBeckettasahealthychild.

1.2AnalysisofOpeningStatementintheFilm

Therearemuchcourtdebatinginthefilm.Insomeextent,theycanbuusedasmodelsofopeningstatements.Forexample,“Ladiesandgentlemenofthejury,forgeteverythingyouhaveseenonthetelevisionandinthemovies.There’snotgonnabeanyl