Above board: Chân thật, cởi mở, phù hợp với pháp luật [if a situation/business is described as “above board”, it is open, honest and legal]
– The deal was completely above board [chân thật] . – Don’t worry about the contract; it’s all completely above board [hợp pháp]. – There are not secret negotiations. Our dealings have always been above board [cởi mở].
Accessory after the fact: Đồng phạm sau khi thực hiện tội phạm [a person who helps someone to commit a crime or who knows about it and protects the person from the police after the crime was committed]
– Anyone who knowingly harbours a criminal is liable to be prosecuted as an accessory after the fact [đồng phạm sau khi thực hiện tội phạm].
Accessory before the fact: Đồng phạm trước khi thực hiện tội phạm [= before the crime was committed]
– The three accomplices who helped the prisoner plan the robbery were convicted as accessories before the fact [đồng phạm trước khi thực hiện tội phạm].
An accomplished fact: Việc đã rồi [something that has been done/completed; before those affected by it can intervene or change it, is called an accomplished fact]
An eye for an eye: Ăn miếng trả miếng [a person who treats someone else badly should be treated in the same way]
– The death penalty for murder works on the principle of an eye for an eye [ăn miếng trả miếng].
An act of God: Thiên tai [an event caused by natural forces which people cannot control or prevent, for example, a hurricane, earthquake, etc].
– The insurance company refused to pay the money they said the forest fire was an act of God [thiên tai]. – The insurance policy covers your house against all types of damage, excluding those caused by acts of God [thiên tai].
The Arm of the law: Quyền lực của luật pháp [the extent to which the authority/power of the law extends]
– He fled to South America hoping to escape the arm of the law [quyền lực luật pháp]
Assemble a case: Thu thập bằng chứng kiện ai [against someone]: [gather the evidence needed to make a legal case against someone]
– The prosecution was unable to assemble a case [thu thập chứng cứ để kiện] against the man.
Assume liability: Thừa nhận trách nhiệm [accept the responsibility for paying the cost of something]
– The business refused to assume liability [thừa nhận trách nhiệm] for the dangerous products.
At arm’s length: vô tư, không vụ lợi [a transaction in which each person [who is not related to you] acts in their own self-interest]
– We purchased the property at arm’s length [không vụ lợi] and we were not involved in any management decisions
B
Bail [someone] out/bail out [someone]: Nộp tiền bảo lãnh cho ai được tại ngoại hậu cứu [pay a sum of money that allows someone to get out of jail while waiting for a trial]
– The family of the accused criminal pay much money to bail him out [bảo lãnh cho hắn được tại ngoại hậu cứu]
Behind bars: Ở tù, trong tù [someone who is behind bars is in prison]
– If you hang around with that gang, you’ll find yourself behind bars [ở tù].
Beyond reasonable doubt: Chắc chắn, không nghi ngờ gì nữa [legal phrase meaning that something is almost certain]
– The judge sent the man to jail because he believed, beyond a reasonable doubt [không nghi ngờ gì nữa], that he had committed the crime.
in Black and white: Trên giấy tờ, có chứng cứ giấy trắng mực đen [to say that something is in black and white means that there is written proof of it]
– It’s an obligation. It’s in black and white [giấy trắng mực đen] in the contract.
Blow the whistle on: Tố cáo ai [if you report an illegal or socially-harmful activity to the authorities and give information about those responsible for it, you blow the whistle or you are a whistle-blower]
– He refused to blow the whistle on [tố cáo] his boss for fear of losing his job.
a Breach of promise: Vi phạm hợp đồng [the breaking of promise which may also be a breach of promise]
– The couple was accused of breach of promise [vi phạm hợp đồng] when they broke the contract to buy the condominium.
a Breach of peace: Tội phá rối trật tự công cộng [causing a disturbance, violent, disorderly behavior]
– The man was charged with a breach of the peace [tội phá rối trật tự công cộng] when he began fighting with the store clerk.
Breaking and entering: Tội đột nhập [entering a building/home illegally by breaking open a window, door etc.]
– The two men were found guilty of breaking and entering [tội đột nhập].
Break the law: Vi phạm pháp luật [to fail to obey the law]
– The woman was forced to quit her job after it was discovered that she had broken the law [vi phạm pháp luật]
Brush with the law: Chạm trán với luật pháp [when you have a brush with the law, you encounter or experience it briefly]
– Had a brush with the law [đã chạm trán với luật pháp] for speeding a few years ago, but he has had a clean record ever since.
Build a case [against someone]: Thu thập chứng cứ để kiện ai [to gather the evidence needed to make legal case against someone]
– The legal team was working hard to build a case [thu thập chứng cứ để kiện] against the suspected car thief.
Burden of proof: Nghĩa vụ phải chứng minh, đưa ra chứng cớ [the burden of proof is the necessity imposed by the law to prove that what one says is true]
– The burden of proof [nghĩa vụ phải chứng minh] lies with the claimant.
By the book: Chặt chẽ theo đúng điều lệ [following rules and instructions in a very strict way]
– She always does everything by the book [theo đúng điều lệ]. – Our lawyer is very good and he does everything by the book.
C
Case of mistaken identity: Trường hợp nhận lầm người [a case where you incorrectly identify someone]
– The young man was arrested in a case of mistaken identity [do trường hợp nhận lầm người]. – He was shot in what seems to have been a case of mistaken identity [nhận lầm người].
Caught in the act [of doing something]: Bị bắt khi [bạn] đang làm gì [if a person is caught in the act [of doing something], they are caught while they are doing something wrong]
– He was caught in the act of [bị bắt khi] stealing a car.
Caught red-handed: Bị bắt quả tang [if a person is caught red-handed, they are caught while they are doing something wrong]
– The police arrived as the burglar was leaving the house. He was caught red-handed [bị bắt quả tang].
Causing a disturbance: Tội phá rối trật tự công cộng [an offence committed by fighting/screaming/shouting/swearing or being drunk in public]
– Several fans were arrested for causing a disturbance [tội phá rối trật tự công cộng] after the football game.
Cease and desist: Ngừng/chấm dứt một hành động theo lệnh tòa án [a legal phrase which means to stop doing something and not start again – often used in the form of a cease and desist order]
– The woman’s husband was given a cease and desist order [lệnh chấm dứt] to stop bothering her.
Consecutive sentences: Án chồng án [sentences that are given to someone with one sentences following immediately after the other sentence]
– The criminal was given 3 consecutive sentences for the murder of the young girls.
Crack down on: Trừng trị thẳng tay [enforce a rule/law more strictly]
– To reduce road accidents, it was decided to crack down on [trừng trị thẳng tay] speeding. – Police are cracking down on [trừng trị thẳng tay] drug dealers.
Cut someone slack: Bớt nghiêm khắc, dễ dãi hơn
– Our parents are strict; I wish they’d cut us some slack [bớt nghiêm khắc hơn].
D
Daylight robbery: Giá cắt cổ [the term daylight robbery is used when the price of something is thought to be much too high]
– $10 for an orange juice? That’s daylight robbery [giá cắt cổ].
Draw up an agreement: Dự thảo hợp đồng [to prepare a written statement to put something into writing]
– My lawyer is helping me to draw up an agreement [dự thảo hợp đồng] to buy the small business.
Due process [of law]: Quyền công dân được pháp luật bảo vệ [the rights that each person has to be protected by the law]
– The man was accused of theft by his employer but he knew that he was entitled to due process of law [quyền công dân được được pháp luật bảo vệ] and would be found to be innocent.
– Everyone is entitled to due process of law.
Extenuating circumstances: Các tình tiết làm nhẹ tội [special circumstances that explain an irregular or improper way of doing things]
– The man was able to avoid going to jail for the money because of extenuating circumstances [do có các tình tiết giảm nhẹ tội]. – Because of extenuating circumstances [do có các tình tiết giảm nhẹ tội], he was acquitted of charges.
F
Fair hearing: Xét xử công bằng
– I can guarantee that you will get a fair hearing [xét xử công bằng].
False pretences: Lừa đảo [if you obtain something under false pretenses, you deceive others by lying about identity, qualifications, financial/social position in order to get what you want]
– The woman was acting under false pretenses [lừa đảo] when she went to the bank and asked for a loan. – The journalists obtained the interview under false pretenses [lừa gạt].
G
Get out of hand: Khó/không thể kiểm soát [difficult/impossible to control]
– Unemployment is getting out of control [khó kiểm soát]. – During the student demonstration, things got out of hand [khó kiểm soát] and several shop windows were broken.
H
Hit and run accident/driver: Gây tai nạn rồi bỏ chạy/lái xe gây tại nạn rồi bỏ trốn [when the driver of a vehicle hit another vehicle without stopping to provide help, identification/insurance, and fails to report the accident to the police, the collision is called a hit and run accident]
– A hit and run accident [gây tại nạn rồi bỏ trốn] deserves serious punishment.
In trouble with the law: Gây rắc rối với luật pháp [if someone is in trouble with the law, they are being questioned by the police in connection with something illegal or criminal]
– The suspect has often been in trouble with the law [gây rắc rối với pháp luật].
K
Kangaroo court: Tòa án trò hề [a kangaroo court is an illegal tribunal set up by a group of people who taken the law into their own hands and conduct trials which deny fundamental justice]
– Calm down please! Is this a meeting or a kangaroo court [tòa án trò hề]?
L
a Law unto themselves: Coi thường luật lệ [someone who makes his/her own laws/rules]
– The manager was a law unto herself [coi thường luật lệ] and she thought that she could do whatever she wanted.
Lay down the law: Ra lệnh, ra oai [to state firmly what the rules/laws are for something]
– We decided to lay down the law [ra lệnh] regarding the vacation schedule for our employees.
Law of the jungle: Luật rừng [a situation in which people are prepared to use Unscrupulous methods in order to succeed/survive is called the law of jungle]
– Some businesses today seem to be governed by the law of the jungle [luật rừng].
Letter of the law: Lời văn của luật pháp [the literal interpretation of the words of a law but not necessarily the intent of those who wrote the law
– The lawyer always likes to follow the letter of the law [lời văn của luật pháp].
Licence to print money: Việc hái ra tiền dễ dàng [used to describe a business which makes a lot of money with little effort]
– The contract to supply computers to schools was a licence to print money [việc hái ra tiền dễ dàng].
M
Moot point/question: Một điều còn phải bàn, còn phải tranh luận [a matter about which there may be disagreement or confusion]
– It’s a moot point/question [điều còn phải tranh luận] whether men or women are better drivers.
Murphy’s law: Định luật bánh bơ, định luật Murphy, nếu có thể, sai trái luôn xảy ra [reffering to Murphy’s law express a sentiment of bad luck and the idea that if anything can be wrong, it will]
– With any business, there are times when Murphy’s law takes over [nếu có thể, sai trái luôn xảy ra] – We’ve tried to prepare for every possible incident, but remember Murphy’s law [định luật Murphy].
O
Open and shut case: Rõ rành rành [an open and shut case is one where the facts are so clear that the matter can be dealt with or solved easily]
– He’s obviously guilty – it’s an open and shut case [quá rõ ràng].
Out of court: Không nhờ đến tòa án phân xử [a decision was reached without a trial]
– The case was settled out of court [mà không nhờ đến tòa án phân xử].
P
Power of attorney: Quyền được ủy nhiệm [a legal document granting authority for one person to act as another’s representive]
– The woman was given power of attorney [quyền được ủy nhiệm] over her mother’s daily affairs.
R
Run afoul of the law: Phạm pháp [to get into trouble with the law]
– The young man ran afoul of the law [phạm pháp] and was taken into police custody.
S
Set someone free: Trả tự do cho ai [to release someone from prison/captivity]
– The police set the man free [trả tự do] when they decided there was not enough evidence to charge him with a crime.
Sign on dotted line: Ký vào một hợp đồng/giấy tờ quan trọng [to put your signature on a contract or other important document]
– We signed on the dotted line of the contract [ký vào một hợp đồng] to start the new business.
Spirit of the law: Tinh thần của luật pháp [something as it is meant to be and not as it is stated exactly, what the people who made the law wanted to achieve]
– The judge tried to follow the spirit of law [tinh thần của luật pháp] and not only as it was written. – Obey the spirit [tinh thần], not the letter of the law.
T
Take precedence over [someone/something]: Có quyền ưu tiên [với ai/cái gì] [to be more important than someone/something, to have the right to come before someone/something else]
– The laws about the safety of children take precedence over [có quyền ưu tiên hơn] many other laws.
Toe the line: Tuân thủ, phục tùng [if someone toes the line, they obey the rules and accept the principles laid down by a person, a group, an organization]
– If you want to stay in this school, you’ll have to learn to toe the line [tuân thủ].
Trumped-up: Vu cáo [false and exaggerated, invented by fraud/criminal deception]
– The business owner was arrested on trumped-up charges [tội vu cáo].
Turn a blind eye to: Giả vờ không biết, phớt lờ [to pretend not to see someone who is doing something wrong]
– The police often turn a blind eye to [giả vờ không biết] people who cross the street on a red light. – The manager turned a bind eye [phớt lờ] when his staff were late. U
Under age: Chưa đến tuổi trưởng thành [below the legal age to do something]
– The boy was under age [vị thành niên] and was not able to buy cigarettes. – You shouldn’t sell cigarettes to teenagers who are under age [chưa đến tuổi trưởng thành]
Under arrest: Bị bắt [arrested by the police]
– The man was placed under arrest [bị bắt] for stealing a car. . – You are under arrest [bị bắt]. – I am placing you under arrest [bắt anh] for attempted burglary.
W
With no strings attached/without strings: Không kèm theo điều kiện đặc biệt [with no obligations attached], không kèm theo trách nhiệm [without too much responsibility or commitment]
– The man was forced to agree to the terms of the agreement with no strings attached [không kèm theo điều kiện đặc biệt].