陪审员眼中的美国司法体系

Jurors Get Firsthand Look at Justice System

陪审员眼中的美国司法体系

 

If you're an American citizen, one of your fundamental civic¹ duties is to serve, when called, as a juror in a civil or criminal trial. I was oddly pleased to get a notice in my mailbox summoning me for jury duty. I actually looked forward to sitting with 11 other New Yorkers, all chosen as randomly² as I was, to hear evidence about a crime and to play an active role in the justice system.

 

I arrived early at the New York State Court building with my photo ID and a day's worth of reading material, and took a seat on a wooden bench in a vast, dimly-lit hall with perhaps 200 other potential jurors.

 

Assembling an impartial³ jury is an essential element of the criminal trial process. Before we were selected to hear a case, the prosecutor⁴, the defense⁵ attorney and the judge all questioned each of us in the courtroom, to see if we harbored prejudices that might keep us from fairly judging the defendant⁶. They asked us such questions as "Have your ever been a victim of a crime?" "Are you more or less likely to believe a police officer than any other citizen who testifies?" "Could we assume innocence⁷ until guilt⁸ was proved beyond a reasonable doubt?

 

After a full day of this, I was selected for a burglary case. With 11 fellow jurors (and two alternates) I raised my right hand and swore an oath to be fair. We were a diverse group of people, including black, white, Latino, professional, working-class, native born and new Americans, and we ranged in age from about 25 to nearly 70 years old.

 

After we'd taken our seats in the section of the courtroom known as the jury box, the judge instructed us not to talk about the case -- even among ourselves -- until all the evidence had been given, and not to discuss the trial with anyone outside, either. We each had to make up our own mind.

 

The defendant, a 35-year-old man with a long ponytail, sitting before us in a suit and tie, had been charged with the burglary of a drugstore.

 

We listened to evidence in his case for two days. The defendant himself didn't testify -- it was up to the State prosecutor to provide the proof.

 

Witnesses were examined by the prosecution⁹, then cross-examined by the defense. We were shown the store's security videotapes and the written warning the store says it gave the defendant -- after an earlier shoplifting incident -- that he was barred from shopping at any of the company's chain of drug stores. That letter meant the man's second attempted theft involved a more serious criminal trespass¹⁰.

 

As the trial drew to a close, the prosecutor and the defense attorney gave us their closing arguments. Then the judge explained the law to us and how it applied¹¹ to this case, and sent us to the jury room to deliberate. In order to find the defendant guilty or not guilty, we would all have to agree on a verdict.

 

My fellow jurors and I had become friendly during the first couple of days of the trial, but as we deliberated we sometimes differed sharply over details of the case. We asked that portions of the testimony¹² -- which had been carefully transcribed¹⁴ by a court reporter -- be read back to us. After four hours of intense argument and discussion, we all agreed to find the defendant guilty of burglary.

 

I was impressed by how seriously the jurors took their jobs. Even though we were all anxious to finish with the trial and get back to our lives, we all seemed to have the same sense of duty to be certain - beyond a reasonable doubt - that our verdict was justified¹⁵ by the evidence in the case.

 

I was not alone in sensing the enormity of the responsibility we had been given. I made certain to look directly at the face of the defendant when the verdict was read. I wanted to see with my own eyes whatever emotion he was feeling, and to accept responsibility for the choice I had made and what it would mean for his life. Then, just one week after it started, the trial was over, the jury was thanked, then dismissed, and we were out on the Manhattan streets saying goodbye and hailing cabs.

 

This is Adam Phillips in New York.

 

注释：

oddly [5Rdli] adv. 奇怪地

summon [5sQmEn] vt. 〈法〉传唤，传唤到庭

randomly [5rAndEmli] adv. 随便地

impartial [im5pB:FEl] adj. 公平的，无私的

prosecutor [5prRsikju:tE(r)] n. 原告；起诉人

defendant [di5fendEnt] n. 被告

innocence [5inEsEns] n. 无罪

burglary [5bE:^lEri] v. 入室行窃

fellow [5felEu] adj. 同道的

alternate [C:l5tE:nit] adj. 轮流的，预备的

ponytail [5pEuniteil] n. 马尾辫（一种发型）

drugstore [drQ^5stC:] n. <美> 药房，杂货店

shoplifting [5FCp7liftiN] n. 入店行窃

trespass [5trespEs] n. 过失，罪过

deliberate [di5libEreit] v. 商讨

verdict [5vE:dikt] n.（陪审团的）判决

testimony [5testimEni] n. 证词（尤指在法庭所作的）

transcribe¹³ [trAns5kraib] v. 转录

1 civic   

adj.城市的，都市的，市民的，公民的

参考例句：

• I feel it is my civic duty to vote.我认为投票选举是我作为公民的义务。
• The civic leaders helped to forward the project.市政府领导者协助促进工程的进展。

2 randomly   

adv.随便地，未加计划地

参考例句：

• Within the hot gas chamber, molecules are moving randomly in all directions. 在灼热的气体燃烧室内，分子在各个方向上作无规运动。 来自辞典例句
• Transformed cells are loosely attached, rounded and randomly oriented. 转化细胞则不大贴壁、圆缩并呈杂乱分布。 来自辞典例句

3 impartial   

adj.(in,to)公正的，无偏见的

参考例句：

• He gave an impartial view of the state of affairs in Ireland.他对爱尔兰的事态发表了公正的看法。
• Careers officers offer impartial advice to all pupils.就业指导员向所有学生提供公正无私的建议。

4 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。

5 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。

6 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。

7 innocence   

n.无罪；天真；无害

参考例句：

• There was a touching air of innocence about the boy.这个男孩有一种令人感动的天真神情。
• The accused man proved his innocence of the crime.被告人经证实无罪。

8 guilt   

n.犯罪；内疚；过失，罪责

参考例句：

• She tried to cover up her guilt by lying.她企图用谎言掩饰自己的罪行。
• Don't lay a guilt trip on your child about schoolwork.别因为功课责备孩子而使他觉得很内疚。

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 trespass   

n./v.侵犯，闯入私人领地

参考例句：

• The fishing boat was seized for its trespass into restricted waters.渔船因非法侵入受限制水域而被扣押。
• The court sentenced him to a fine for trespass.法庭以侵害罪对他判以罚款。

11 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

12 testimony   

n.证词；见证，证明

参考例句：

• The testimony given by him is dubious.他所作的证据是可疑的。
• He was called in to bear testimony to what the police officer said.他被传入为警官所说的话作证。

13 transcribe   

v.抄写，誉写；改编(乐曲)；复制，转录

参考例句：

• We need volunteers to transcribe this manuscript.我们需要自愿者来抄写这个文稿。
• I am able to take dictation in English and transcribe them rapidly into Chinese.我会英文记录，还能立即将其改写成中文。

14 transcribed   

（用不同的录音手段）转录( transcribe的过去式和过去分词 )； 改编（乐曲）（以适应他种乐器或声部）； 抄写； 用音标标出（声音）

参考例句：

• He transcribed two paragraphs from the book into his notebook. 他把书中的两段抄在笔记本上。
• Every telephone conversation will be recorded and transcribed. 所有电话交谈都将被录音并作全文转写。

15 justified   

a.正当的，有理的

参考例句：

• She felt fully justified in asking for her money back. 她认为有充分的理由要求退款。
• The prisoner has certainly justified his claims by his actions. 那个囚犯确实已用自己的行动表明他的要求是正当的。