访谈录[Interview]2007-10-09:深度剖析布兰妮监护权之争

Jeffrey, what is the biggest factor the judges normally take into consideration in these child custody¹ battles.

The biggest factor by far is simply the best interests of the child. Is the child in danger with one parent or the other? Judge Scott Gordon, who was one of the O.J Simpson prosecutors³, oddly enough. You know that the order has not been released because minors⁴ are involved. But obviously he thought there was an immediate⁵ issue with the safety of the children of Britney Spears. So he awarded them to Kevin Federline.

And he… Federline is gonna retain custody of the two sons court until further order of the court. What does that really mean I mean that, could there be a different ruling down the road?

Well it could be. I mean basically it means that Britney Spears will be allowed to reapply for custody if she gets her act together. But it’s important to remember this is really unusual what Gordon has done here. And you know the, judges don’t just sort of yank custody all the time. Obviously he’s very concerned about something that’s going on immediately right now. And ah…you know he’s not messing around because he feels like the safety of the children. This is alright stay.

And he ordered twice weekly drug test for her and ordered her to spend 8 hours every week working with a parenting coach. Is that unusual?

Well it’s not unusual when you have a parent who is proved to be a drug addict⁶, and an unfit parent I mean this is how people are treated when they are a danger to their children. So, it’s unfortunately there are a lot of people who are a danger to their children. But only those kind of people are forced to endure this kind of really humiliating and onerous⁷ requirements.

Does the law tend to favor mothers in a proceeding⁸ like this?

Well the law has changed in recent years to be more equitable⁹ but, I mean, the shift has been much more towards the children rather than the parents I mean that earlier if the parents were sort of almost presumed to be fit to take care of their children. But unfortunately as we know you know most of the violence that children suffer comes not from strangers but from their parents. So the law has responded to that and said look we are simply gonna take kids away from parents when we think there is a possibility that they are gonna be a danger to their children.

And can, can she can Britney Spears appeal this ruling?

She can but these are the, appeals courts rarely get involved in these sorts of controversies¹⁰. Her best chance is simply to get her act together you know, pass her drug tests, participate in the parenting classes and go back to Judge Scott Gordon and say look I’ve cleaned up my act, let me have my children again. That’s her best chance not in appeals court.

And …I mean how does celebrity¹¹ factor into this? Does it I mean does it impact the court, does it impact the judge?

You know... It’s very hard to know what’s going on in Scott Gordon's head, I happened to know Scort Gorden. I got, I got to know him during the O.J Simpson case. He was the prosecutor² who’s most responsible for the domestic violence part in the case. So he’s someone who’s…who really knows a lot about you know dangers in the home. So you know I think Scott is a very level-headed guy. And he’s not gonna have his head swayed by the fact that Britney Spears is a celebrity. I think he just wants to make sure these kids are out of danger.

1 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。

2 prosecutor   

n.起诉人；检察官，公诉人

参考例句：

• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。
• The prosecutor would tear your testimony to pieces.检查官会把你的证言驳得体无完肤。

3 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。

4 minors   

n.未成年人( minor的名词复数 )；副修科目；小公司；[逻辑学]小前提v.[主美国英语]副修，选修，兼修( minor的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The law forbids shops to sell alcohol to minors. 法律禁止商店向未成年者出售含酒精的饮料。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He had three minors this semester. 这学期他有三门副修科目。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

6 addict   

v.使沉溺；使上瘾；n.沉溺于不良嗜好的人

参考例句：

• He became gambling addict,and lost all his possessions.他习染上了赌博，最终输掉了全部家产。
• He assisted a drug addict to escape from drug but failed firstly.一开始他帮助一个吸毒者戒毒但失败了。

7 onerous   

adj.繁重的

参考例句：

• My household duties were not particularly onerous.我的家务活并不繁重。
• This obligation sometimes proves onerous.这一义务有时被证明是艰巨的。

8 proceeding   

n.行动，进行，(pl.)会议录，学报

参考例句：

• This train is now proceeding from Paris to London.这次列车从巴黎开往伦敦。
• The work is proceeding briskly.工作很有生气地进展着。

9 equitable   

adj.公平的；公正的

参考例句：

• This is an equitable solution to the dispute. 这是对该项争议的公正解决。
• Paying a person what he has earned is equitable. 酬其应得,乃公平之事。

10 controversies   

争论

参考例句：

• We offer no comment on these controversies here. 对于这些争议，我们在这里不作任何评论。 来自英汉非文学 - 历史
• The controversies surrounding population growth are unlikely to subside soon. 围绕着人口增长问题的争论看来不会很快平息。 来自辞典例句

11 celebrity   

n.名人，名流；著名，名声，名望

参考例句：

• Tom found himself something of a celebrity. 汤姆意识到自己已小有名气了。
• He haunted famous men, hoping to get celebrity for himself. 他常和名人在一起, 希望借此使自己获得名气。