Exercise 1. Read and translate (see the Introduction for details).

The Courts. The courts are the overseers(l) of the law. They administer the law (2), resolve disputes (3) under. the law, and strive to apply the law (4) in a fair and im- partial (5) manner.

Ohio, like other states, is served by two separate court systems, state and federal. Both systems are organized into three basic levels of court: trial courts (6), intermediate courts of appeals (7), and a high court (8), or Supreme Court, The state courts' are primarily (9) concerned with cases (10) arising under state law; the federal courts are primarily concerned withj^es arising under federal law.

Ohio Trial Courts, trial courts bear the main burden (11) in the administration of justice. Cases begin, and'in most instances are resolved (12), in the trial court. Ohio has several kinds of trial courts. Each court has the jurisdiction (power or authority) to handle particular kinds of cases.

The trial courts in Ohio include: common pleas courts (13), which have general civil and criminal jurisdiction (14), and correspondingly broad powers; municipal courts (15) and county courts (16), which have jurisdiction in lesser civil and criminal cases and here fore lesser powers than common pleas courts; and mayors' courts (17), which do not have civil jurisdiction and have only very limited criminal powers. Ohio also has the Court of Claims (18), which handles suits against the state or its agencies.

Common Pleas Courts. The common pleas court is the most important of Ohio's trial courts. It is Ohio's court of general jurisdiction (19) - most serious civil or criminal cases must be brought there. Moreover, it is the only trial court which has the power to deal with certain matters (20), that is, it has exclusive jurisdiction (21) in certain matters. For example, the common pleas court has exclusive jurisdiction over felonies (22) (a felony is a serious crime for which the penalty is a penitentiary term (23) or death). Generally, in civil matters (24), the common pleas court has exclusive jurisdiction in lawsuits (25) seeking certain extraordinary remedies (26).

1. наглядачі; 2. відправляти правосуддя; 3. вирішувати спори; 4. застосовувати закон; 5. неупереджений; 6. суди першої інстанції; 7. проміжні апеляційні суди; 8. Верховний суд; 9. перш за все; 10. справи у суді; 11. тягар; 12. вирішувати суперечки; 13. суди загального права; 14. цивільні та кримінальні юрисдикції; 15. муніципальні суди; 16. окружні суди; 17. суди мера; 18. претензійні суди; 19. загальні юрисдикції; 20. певні справи; 21. виключна юрисдикція; 22. фелонії; 23. виправний срок, ув’язнення; 24. цивільні справи; 25. судові позови; 26. надзвичайні засоби судового захисту.