2023年经济学人 法官短缺致使案件堆积（2）

 

 

    Even without the pandemic, a generational flip¹ was under way.

    即使没有疫情，代际转换也在进行中。

    That has led to calls to raise the retirement² age from 70 to 75, to relieve the pressure.

    这导致人们呼吁将退休年龄从70岁提高到75岁，以缓解压力。

    But Mr McGoughran says more than 50% of those leaving are retiring early, “which says to me they are not enjoying judging”.

    但麦古夫兰先生表示，超过50%的离职员工会提前退休，“这在我看来，他们并不喜欢审判别人”。

    Those judges who remain are burnt out.

    那些留下来的法官已经筋疲力尽了。

    “It is a cascading³ problem,” says Danielle Hirsch of the National Centre for State Courts (NCSC).

    “这是一个连锁问题，”国家法院中心的丹尼尔·赫希说。

    New Jersey⁴ is not the only state that is feeling the pinch.

    新泽西州并不是唯一一个感到人手拮据的州。

    Maine also has a shortage.

    缅因州也出现了法官短缺。

    Maine’s chief justice recently said that she met a judge who was discouraged “because she cannot make headway regardless of how many cases she jams into dockets or how late she works.”

    缅因州的首席大法官最近说，她遇到了一位灰心丧气的法官，“因为无论她把多少案件塞到案宗里，或者工作到多晚，她都无法取得进展。”

    Poor pay plays a role in recruitment and retention⁵: Maine’s judges are among the lowest-paid in the country.

    低薪在难以招聘和留住法官方面发挥了不小的作用：缅因州是全国法官薪酬最低的州之一。

    The state also has a shortage of court staff.

    该州也缺少法院工作人员。

    Clerks work nights and weekends to catch up.

    职员们晚上和周末都需要加班以赶上进度。

    Amy Quinlan, Maine’s court administrator⁶, says the pandemic revealed that courts were struggling; it is now abundantly clear that more help is needed.

    缅因州法院行政官艾米·昆兰表示，疫情揭露了法院举步维艰的状况; 很明显，该州现在需要更多的帮助。

    Other states are also suffering from staff shortages.

    其他州也面临着员工短缺的问题。

    The gaps include court reporters, interpreters, attorneys, clerks and police.

    空缺人员包括法庭记录员、口译员、律师、书记员和警察。

    The NCSC found that 14 state chief justices raised staff shortages and the need for pay raises to recruit and retain talent as the most pressing issues facing state courts.

    国家法院中心发现，14名州首席大法官曾提出，州法院面临的最紧迫问题是员工短缺以及加薪招聘并留住人才。

    Courts in Louisiana, Missouri and North Dakota have had to close or reduce hours.

    路易斯安那州、密苏里州和北达科他州的法院不得不关闭或缩短工作时间。

    The turnover⁷ rate for court staff in Florida has more than doubled since the 2020-21 financial year.

    自2020-21财政年度以来，佛罗里达州法院工作人员的离职率增加了一倍多。

    In New York, the acting⁸ chief judge said during his state-of-the-judiciary message this year that “staffing shortages slow down our dockets and burden our already-strained workforce⁹.”

    在纽约，代理首席法官在他今年的司法状况咨文中说，“人员短缺减缓了我们的诉讼进度，加重了我们本已紧张的工作人员的负担。”

    These troubles are causing cases to remain on hold for long periods.

    这些麻烦导致案件长时间被搁置。

    A backlog¹⁰ in criminal cases will make it hard for states to meet their constitutional obligations.

    积压的刑事案件将使各州难以履行其宪法义务。

    The Sixth Amendment¹¹ requires that the accused “shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial”.

    第六修正案规定被告“应享有迅速和公开审判的权利”。

    Lately, there is nothing speedy about trials.

    然而最近的审判没有迅速的。

1 flip   

vt.快速翻动；轻抛；轻拍；n.轻抛；adj.轻浮的

参考例句：

• I had a quick flip through the book and it looked very interesting.我很快翻阅了一下那本书，看来似乎很有趣。
• Let's flip a coin to see who pays the bill.咱们来抛硬币决定谁付钱。

2 retirement   

n.退休，退职

参考例句：

• She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
• I have to put everything away for my retirement.我必须把一切都积蓄起来以便退休后用。

3 cascading   

流注( cascade的现在分词 )； 大量落下； 大量垂悬； 梯流

参考例句：

• First of all, cascading menus are to be avoided at all costs. 首先，无论如何都要避免使用级联菜单。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓
• Her sounds began cascading gently. 他的声音开始缓缓地低落下来。

4 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。

5 retention   

n.保留，保持，保持力，记忆力

参考例句：

• They advocate the retention of our nuclear power plants.他们主张保留我们的核电厂。
• His retention of energy at this hour is really surprising.人们惊叹他在这个时候还能保持如此旺盛的精力。

6 administrator   

n.经营管理者，行政官员

参考例句：

• The role of administrator absorbed much of Ben's energy.行政职务耗掉本很多精力。
• He has proved himself capable as administrator.他表现出管理才能。

7 turnover   

n.人员流动率，人事变动率；营业额，成交量

参考例句：

• The store greatly reduced the prices to make a quick turnover.这家商店实行大减价以迅速周转资金。
• Our turnover actually increased last year.去年我们的营业额竟然增加了。

8 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

9 workforce   

n.劳动大军，劳动力

参考例句：

• A large part of the workforce is employed in agriculture.劳动人口中一大部分受雇于农业。
• A quarter of the local workforce is unemployed.本地劳动力中有四分之一失业。

10 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。

11 amendment   

n.改正，修正，改善，修正案

参考例句：

• The amendment was rejected by 207 voters to 143.这项修正案以207票对143票被否决。
• The Opposition has tabled an amendment to the bill.反对党已经就该议案提交了一项修正条款。