Jury selection is underway in the first trial stemming from the Jan. 6 insurrection

Jury selection is underway in the first trial stemming from the Jan. 6 insurrection

Transcript¹

Prosecutors² say Guy Reffitt brought a gun to the Capitol grounds, and that he later threatened his children if they turned him in. Reffitt is fighting the charges.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Jury selection is underway in the first trial stemming from the January 6 insurrection a bit more than a year ago. The defendant³ is Guy Reffitt. And prosecutors say he brought a gun to the Capitol grounds and later threatened his kids if they turned him in. He is fighting these charges. NPR's Tom Dreisbach reports.

TOM DREISBACH, BYLINE⁴: Federal Judge Dabney Friedrich said the United States vs. Guy Wesley Reffitt is not your typical criminal case. As Judge Friedrich put it, no one can come into this courtroom with a completely blank slate⁵ about the events of January 6. And that's a challenge. So what she wants are jurors who can keep an open mind. As she presided in the high-ceilinged, wood-paneled courtroom, a team for the Department of Justice sat at one table and at another, Guy Reffitt and his defense⁶ attorney. Reffitt was wearing glasses, a tan sport coat. And he had his hair pulled back into a small ponytail.

One by one, more than 30 prospective⁷ jurors came in. There was a Walgreens cashier and, this being D.C., an employee of NASA, a man who's stepmom was U.S. ambassador to Canada during the Trump⁸ administration and a lot of lawyers. Judge Friedrich led the questioning. How much news about January 6 have you heard? Is it mostly headlines, or do you seek it out? Four people said they knew about the case of the so-called QAnon Shaman, or the guy with the horns, as a few put it. One said he read about this very case on the way to the courthouse that morning. Little did you know, said Judge Friedrich. Almost none recognized Guy Reffitt, the defendant, who pulled down his mask, just to make sure.

Then there were the questions about how people felt about the Capitol riot. And could they set aside those feelings? One man said, January 6 felt like an attack on my home. He started to get emotional as he described military troop transports parked on the streets of his city. The defense wanted him off the jury. The prosecution⁹ thought he could stay. Judge Friedrich said it was a close call but decided¹⁰ to remove him out of an abundance of caution. And the search for that neutral jury continues today.

Tom Dreisbach, NPR News, Washington.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 prosecutors   

检举人( prosecutor的名词复数 )； 告发人； 起诉人； 公诉人

参考例句：

• In some places,public prosecutors are elected rather than appointed. 在有些地方，检察官是经选举而非任命产生的。 来自口语例句
• You've been summoned to the Prosecutors' Office, 2 days later. 你在两天以后被宣到了检察官的办公室。

3 defendant   

n.被告；adj.处于被告地位的

参考例句：

• The judge rejected a bribe from the defendant's family.法官拒收被告家属的贿赂。
• The defendant was borne down by the weight of evidence.有力的证据使被告认输了。

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 slate   

n.板岩，石板，石片，石板色，候选人名单；adj.暗蓝灰色的，含板岩的；vt.用石板覆盖，痛打，提名，预订

参考例句：

• The nominating committee laid its slate before the board.提名委员会把候选人名单提交全体委员会讨论。
• What kind of job uses stained wood and slate? 什么工作会接触木头污浊和石板呢？

6 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

7 prospective   

adj.预期的，未来的，前瞻性的

参考例句：

• The story should act as a warning to other prospective buyers.这篇报道应该对其他潜在的购买者起到警示作用。
• They have all these great activities for prospective freshmen.这会举办各种各样的活动来招待未来的新人。

8 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

9 prosecution   

n.起诉，告发，检举，执行，经营

参考例句：

• The Smiths brought a prosecution against the organizers.史密斯家对组织者们提出起诉。
• He attempts to rebut the assertion made by the prosecution witness.他试图反驳原告方证人所作的断言。

10 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。