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(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
A name not normally in the news figured in some of it this week. U.S. District Judge Emmet G. Sullivan delayed Michael Flynn's sentencing and questioned the suggestion of prosecutors1 that he receive a lenient2 sentence. I can't make any guarantees, he told President Trump's former national security adviser3, but I'm not hiding my disgust, my disdain4 for this criminal offense5. He pointed6 to the flag in his courtroom and said, arguably that undermines everything this flag over here stands for. A day later, Judge Sullivan halted the administration policy that made it difficult for immigrants to ask for asylum8 because of domestic abuse or gang violence. Judge Sullivan called those policies arbitrary, capricious and unlawful. One judge can make that difference.
Emmet Sullivan's been a jurist since he was appointed to the Superior Court of D.C. in 1984 by President Reagan and the U.S. district judge for the district in 1994 by President Clinton. Over that time, he has pleased and/or upset both Republican and Democratic administrations. He threw out the federal corruption9 case against the late Republican Senator Ted7 Stevens of Alaska. He told the government in August to turn that plane around when a mother and daughter from El Salvador were flown out of the country before their asylum case could be decided10. It's outrageous11, the judge added.
I was once called for jury duty in Judge Sullivan's courtroom. He was unfailingly and conspicuously12 courteous13 to lawyers, courtroom staff and the jury pool. We're grateful for your service, he told us. You men and women make democracy work. You hold the fate of a fellow citizen in your hands. There is no more important duty. I was excused from the jury before the case began. I am not only a journalist, which makes attorneys uneasy, but also the stepson of a man whom I loved who was once convicted of a crime. Judge Sullivan called me back into his chambers14. I'm sure you could be a fair juror, he told me. It's just wise to avoid any side issue when a man is on trial for a serious charge. I was touched by Judge Sullivan's regard for a defendant15 and an individual juror. I was impressed by his innate16, even slightly old-fashioned courtesy and wound up putting his name on a character in a novel. He sent me a note with characteristic humility17.
In a week Washington, D.C., bristled18 with showdowns, a shutdown, pleas and threats, Judge Sullivan's independence and sense of duty reminded us what the flag in his courtroom stands for.
1 prosecutors | |
检举人( prosecutor的名词复数 ); 告发人; 起诉人; 公诉人 | |
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2 lenient | |
adj.宽大的,仁慈的 | |
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3 adviser | |
n.劝告者,顾问 | |
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4 disdain | |
n.鄙视,轻视;v.轻视,鄙视,不屑 | |
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5 offense | |
n.犯规,违法行为;冒犯,得罪 | |
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6 pointed | |
adj.尖的,直截了当的 | |
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7 ted | |
vt.翻晒,撒,撒开 | |
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8 asylum | |
n.避难所,庇护所,避难 | |
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9 corruption | |
n.腐败,堕落,贪污 | |
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10 decided | |
adj.决定了的,坚决的;明显的,明确的 | |
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11 outrageous | |
adj.无理的,令人不能容忍的 | |
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12 conspicuously | |
ad.明显地,惹人注目地 | |
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13 courteous | |
adj.彬彬有礼的,客气的 | |
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14 chambers | |
n.房间( chamber的名词复数 );(议会的)议院;卧室;会议厅 | |
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15 defendant | |
n.被告;adj.处于被告地位的 | |
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16 innate | |
adj.天生的,固有的,天赋的 | |
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17 humility | |
n.谦逊,谦恭 | |
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18 bristled | |
adj. 直立的,多刺毛的 动词bristle的过去式和过去分词 | |
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