2023年经济学人 法官短缺致使案件堆积（1）

 

 

    “Children are suffering,” says Toni Belford Damiano, president-elect of the Passaic County Bar Association.

    “孩子们正在受苦，”帕塞伊克县律师协会当选主席托尼·贝尔福德·达米亚诺说。

    Judge shortages in New Jersey¹ have caused trial delays, adding to a pandemic-related backlog².

    新泽西州法官短缺导致审判延迟，增加了与疫情相关的案件积压。

    Families going through a divorce are struggling with uncertainty³ as they have to wait longer for custody⁴ hearings.

    经历了离婚的家庭正与不确定性作斗争，因为他们必须等待更长时间才能举行监护权听证会。

    In cases of domestic abuse, safety is a concern.

    在家庭暴力案件中，安全是一个大问题。

    “I’ve been doing this almost 40 years,” says Ms Damiano, a family-law practitioner⁵.

    达米亚诺女士是一名家庭法律从业者，她说:“我干这行快40年了。”

    “Fairness requires timeliness.”

    “公平需要及时性。”

    But a lack of judges—and, in many other states, a shortage of other staff needed to keep courts going—are clogging⁶ up the system.

    但是法官的短缺——在许多其他州，维持法院运转所需的其他工作人员的短缺——正在堵塞这个系统。

    Tim McGoughran, head of New Jersey’s bar association, says that, pre-pandemic, most divorce cases going to trial did so within a year.

    新泽西州律师协会主席蒂姆·麦古夫兰表示，在疫情爆发前，大多数离婚案件都是在一年内开庭审理的。

    Now some are entering their third or fourth year.

    现在有些已经进入了第三或第四年。

    For the past three years, the court system has operated with an average of more than 60 judicial⁷ vacancies⁸.

    过去三年，法院系统平均有超过60个司法职位空缺。

    Stuart Rabner, the state’s chief justice, has said the number should be no higher than 25 or 30 for the judiciary to best serve the public.

    该州首席大法官斯图尔特·拉布纳表示，为了让司法部门更好地为公众服务，这一数字不应超过25或30。

    Of 463 positions on the trial-court bench in the state, 55 are vacant.

    在该州审判法庭的463个职位中，有55个空缺。

    And by the end of the year another 11 judges are due to retire.

    到今年年底，还有11名法官将退休。

    In February Justice Rabner suspended civil and matrimonial trials in six counties.

    今年2月，法官拉布纳暂停了6个县的民事和婚姻审判。

    On July 5th he suspended trials in a seventh, Passaic County, except for very limited circumstances, from July 31st.

    7月5日，他暂停了从7月31日起在帕塞伊克县进行的审判，除非有极其特定的情况。

    About half of America’s states appoint their judges, and half elect them.

    美国大约一半州的法官是任命的，一半州是选举出来的。

    Vacancies tend to be low in election states.

    在选举的州，职位空缺往往很少。

    New Jersey is not one of them: the governor nominates judges and the state Senate confirms the nominees⁹.

    新泽西州并不是其中之一：州长提名法官之后，州参议院会批准被提名者。

    Phil Murphy, the governor, is not making enough nominations¹⁰ and the state Senate is not confirming the nominees it does have fast enough.

    但州长菲尔·墨菲没有提名足够多的人，州参议院也没有足够快地确认被提名者。

    Some also blame an unwritten rule of senatorial courtesy, which allows senators to block nominees who live in their home county from being considered, without giving a reason.

    一些人还指责参议院礼节的不成文规则，该规则允许参议员在没有给出理由的情况下，阻止居住在自己所在县的候选人被提名。

    Glenn Grant, the court’s administrative¹¹ director, warned a Senate committee that the system was in crisis.

    最高法院行政主任格伦·格兰特警告参议院的一个委员会，称该系统正处于危机之中。

    In the meantime petitioners¹² are in limbo¹³.

    与此同时，上访者们陷入了困境。

    Some lawyers have begun motioning for a change of trial venue¹⁴.

    一些律师已经开始提议改变审判地点。

1 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

2 backlog   

n.积压未办之事

参考例句：

• It will take a month to clear the backlog of work.要花一个月的时间才能清理完积压的工作。
• Investment is needed to reduce the backlog of repairs.需要投资来減轻积压的维修工作。

3 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。

4 custody   

n.监护，照看，羁押，拘留

参考例句：

• He spent a week in custody on remand awaiting sentence.等候判决期间他被还押候审一个星期。
• He was taken into custody immediately after the robbery.抢劫案发生后，他立即被押了起来。

5 practitioner   

n.实践者，从事者；(医生或律师等)开业者

参考例句：

• He is an unqualified practitioner of law.他是个无资格的律师。
• She was a medical practitioner before she entered politics.从政前她是个开业医生。

6 clogging   

堵塞，闭合

参考例句：

• This process suffers mainly from clogging the membrane. 这种过程的主要问题是滤膜的堵塞。
• And you know that eyewitness that's been clogging up the airwaves? 你知道那个充斥着电视广播的目击证人？

7 judicial   

adj.司法的，法庭的，审判的，明断的，公正的

参考例句：

• He is a man with a judicial mind.他是个公正的人。
• Tom takes judicial proceedings against his father.汤姆对他的父亲正式提出诉讼。

8 vacancies   

n.空房间( vacancy的名词复数 )；空虚；空白；空缺

参考例句：

• job vacancies 职位空缺
• The sign outside the motel said \"No Vacancies\". 汽车旅馆外的招牌显示“客满”。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 nominees   

n.被提名者，被任命者( nominee的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• She's one of the nominees. 她是被提名者之一。 来自超越目标英语 第2册
• A startling number of his nominees for senior positions have imploded. 他所提名的高级官员被否决的数目令人震惊。 来自互联网

10 nominations   

n.提名，任命( nomination的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Nominations are invited for the post of party chairman. 为党主席职位征集候选人。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Much coverage surrounded his abortive bids for the 1960,1964, and 1968 Republican Presidential nominations. 许多消息报道都围绕着1960年、1964年和1968年他为争取提名为共和党总统候选人所做努力的失败。 来自辞典例句

11 administrative   

adj.行政的，管理的

参考例句：

• The administrative burden must be lifted from local government.必须解除地方政府的行政负担。
• He regarded all these administrative details as beneath his notice.他认为行政管理上的这些琐事都不值一顾。

12 petitioners   

n.请求人，请愿人( petitioner的名词复数 )；离婚案原告

参考例句：

• Petitioners suggest that anything less than certainty, that any speculation, is irresponsible. 申诉者认为不准确的事或推断都是不负责任的。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法
• The judge awarded the costs of the case to the petitioners. 法官判定由这起案件的上诉人支付诉讼费用。 来自辞典例句

13 limbo   

n.地狱的边缘；监狱

参考例句：

• His life seemed stuck in limbo and he could not go forward and he could not go back.他的生活好像陷入了不知所措的境地，进退两难。
• I didn't know whether my family was alive or dead.I felt as if I was in limbo.我不知道家人是生是死，感觉自己茫然无措。

14 venue   

n.犯罪地点，审判地，管辖地，发生地点，集合地点

参考例句：

• The hall provided a venue for weddings and other functions.大厅给婚礼和其他社会活动提供了场所。
• The chosen venue caused great controversy among the people.人们就审判地点的问题产生了极大的争议。