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Do you have to translate or simply understand the basics of the United States criminal justice system? Here you will find a criminal law overview to analyse how the law differs from country to country in this field of expertise.<\/p>\n
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Parties to a Lawsuit<\/strong><\/p>\nTo start with, the first thing we should know is how to call the people who take part in a criminal trial, depending on the stage of the suit. In this context, we could say that\u00a0the<\/strong>\u00a0criminal Plaintiff<\/strong>\u00a0(in Spanish, \u2018querellante\u2019) is the person who brings a legal action in a criminal court, and\u00a0the<\/strong>\u00a0Defendant<\/strong>\u00a0(in Spanish, \u2018imputado\u2019 or \u2018procesado\u2019, depending on the case) is the person who is being investigated or has been charged with a crime. In addition,\u00a0the Prosecution\u00a0<\/strong>(in Spanish, \u2018la fiscal\u00eda\u2019), is the party responsible for proving in court that the person accused of committing a crime is guilty (in Argentina, we also have the \u201cMinisterio P\u00fablico Fiscal\u201d or \u2018Prosecution Office\u2019.)<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
Concepts to Clear up<\/strong><\/p>\nWe are too influenced by simplified translations or dubbing every time we watch videos, series or films. No wonder many concepts are easily misunderstood.<\/p>\n
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\n- Criminal charges<\/strong>\u00a0are not crimes. A criminal charge is an official statement (generally made by a prosecutor or the police) which asserts that a person has done something illegal, and it can include one or more counts. In Argentina, we would say that they are \u2018acusaciones\u2019 or \u2018imputaciones\u2019.<\/li>\n
- The verb\u00a0\u2018to prosecute\u2019<\/strong>\u00a0is tricky. It is usually translated as \u2018procesar\u2019 in Spanish, which is not accurate here in Argentina. If you prosecute someone, you bring a criminal suit against them, so in Spanish, \u2018iniciar la acci\u00f3n penal\u2019 would be more suitable. Curiously enough, when we translate from Spanish into English, we do use the term \u2018prosecute\u2019 for our concept of \u2018procesar\u2019.<\/li>\n
- Procedure<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0Proceedings<\/strong>\u00a0are not the same. A procedure is a way of doing something. In Spanish we would use the term \u2018procedimiento\u2019 or \u2018tr\u00e1mite\u2019 meaning that we are following some kind of steps or meeting requirements to complete or get something. On the other hand, the term \u2018proceedings\u2019 is always used in the plural because it refers to the suit or legal steps or measures to be taken. That is why in Argentina we would translate it as \u2018medidas\u2019, \u2018juicio\u2019 or \u2018proceso penal\u2019, as the case may be.<\/li>\n
- Sentencing<\/strong>\u00a0involves different things in Argentina and in the USA. In Argentina it refers to the phase in which the offender is found guilty or not guilty (in Spanish, \u2018etapa condenatoria\u2019) whereas in the United States it is the punishment itself, so sentencing presupposes conviction.<\/li>\n
- \u2018Probation\u2019\u00a0<\/strong>also means two different things depending on the system. Whereas in the USA probation (in Spanish, \u2018r\u00e9gimen de libertad supervisada\u2019) is a sentence whereby an offender does not go to jail but is released under the supervision of a probation officer for a specific period of time, the Argentine probation is the stay of the proceedings subject to the compliance with certain requirements. That is why we use the expression \u2018suspensi\u00f3n del proceso a prueba\u2019 to translate the idea.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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You can contact a professional translator to find out more about criminal law.<\/p>\n
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