美国的陪审团制度

考考你 小试牛刀

大结局：庭审中，律师列举了一系列证据，来证明洛杉矶警方找错孩子却不承认，而且在未经批准的情况下，将Mrs. Collins关入精神病院的罪行，而Jones警官却无理绞三分，最终不仅输了官司，还沦为众人的笑柄……来看看这场精彩的庭审辩论吧。

Get Flash Player

精彩对白

Jones: The boy, Walter Collins, was reported as missing, March 10, 1928. We then instituted a nationwide search. On August 18th, we received a cable indicating that a boy matching his description was found in DeKalb, Illinois. Upon questioning, he admitted to being Walter Collins. We then made arrangements for him to be transported back to California.

Lawyer: Where Mrs. Collins told you the boy was not her son.

Jones: Yes. She denied his identity in spite of all of the evidence pointing to the contrary.

Lawyer: But, as subsequent events have demonstrated, she was correct. So, what prompted you to send her for psychological evaluation?

Jones: Whether or not this was in fact the correct boy was not relevant to my decision. Throughout this period, she acted strangely. She was often cool and aloof and unemotional, especially when confronted with the boy we found in DeKalb and in our subsequent conversation. It was because of her disturbing behavior that I submitted her for observation to the psychopathic ward of Los Angeles County General Hospital.

Lawyer: Just like that. You snap your fingers and an innocent woman is thrown into the psycho ward!

Jones: She wasn't thrown.

Lawyer: Every family in this state is in grave danger when a police captain can take a woman into his office and five minutes later have her thrown into the psychopathic ward on his own authority!

Jones: She wasn't thrown. She wasn't thrown! She wasn't thrown!

Lawyer: What was that, Captain?

Jones: She wasn't thrown. She was escorted.

lawyer: Escorted, thrown, the verb doesn't matter, Captain. What does matter is that her incarceration was ordered without a warrant. I am holding a carbon copy of the affidavit of insanity that was issued in the case of the State of California v. Christine Collins. Who signed the affidavit?

Jones: I did.

lawyer: Well, now, let me see if I have this correct, a woman was thrown into the psychopathic ward without a warrant, because no warrant existed. And when it was finally written several days later, there was no need to sign it or to go to a judge because she was already in the asylum! Is this correct, Captain?

Jones: Technically, yes. Extraordinary steps were necessary because we were dealing... We were dealing with an extraordinary situation. Now, is it our fault that we were being deceived by a boy who claimed to be Walter Collins? No. In light of his claims and her disturbing behavior, who wouldn't begin to think that there was something the matter with her?

lawyer: Because she questioned you?

Jones: No, because she wouldn't listen! Because she insisted on being obstinate! Because she tried to take matters into her own hand, best left to qualified officers! Because once civil disobedience starts...

lawyer: Because she was fighting for the life of her son! A boy who may have still been alive while you were wasting valuable time denying you had done anything wrong! And in the end that's what happened, isn't it? At some point, while all this was going on, Walter Collins was brutally murdered, along with as many as 19 other boys at the Northcott Ranch in Wineville. Is that correct, Captain?

Jones: Yes, it is.

Man: (Whispering) It's a travesty.

lawyer: No further questions.

(people applauding)

妙语佳句 活学活用

1. aloof: 疏远的，冷淡的。He was a cold man, aloof and distant. 他是个冷漠严肃的人，令人难以接近。

2. snap one's fingers: 打了一下响指。在影片中，律师一边打响指，一边说出了这句话，意思是说“只要警官一句话，就可以把一个无辜的女人送进精神病院”。

此外，snap one's fingers还可以表示“轻蔑、不在乎”，例如：Professional car thieves just snap their fingers at the police these days.（如今，专业的偷车老手竟不把警方放在眼里）。

3. grave: 严重的，重大的。Grave danger在这里的意思是“极大的危险”。例如：The police have expressed grave concern about the missing child's safety.（警方对失踪孩子的安全深表关注）。

4. carbon copy: 复写本，副本，指的是a copy made by using carbon paper.(用复写纸复印的一份副本），而“原件”则用top copy来表示，例如：You receive the top copy of the receipt, and we keep the carbon.（你把这收据上面的原件收下，我们保留下面的复写件）。

此外，carbon copy还可以表示“极相像的人；极类似的事”，例如：She is a carbon copy of her sister.（她跟她姐姐长得一模一样）。

5. affidavit: 书面陈述，声明。例如：Can I have a look at the Affidavit of Support? （我能看看书面担保书吗？）

6. in (the) light of: 按照，依据。例如：He reviewed his policy in the light of recent developments.（他根据最近的事态发展重新考虑自己的方针）。

此外，我们还常用in the cold light of day来表示“有时间冷静考虑时，根据客观事实来考虑”，例如：These things always look different in the cold light of day.（这些事情在冷静地考虑后总会显得不同）。

7. take matters into one's own hand: 自行其是，擅自行事，含有“越俎代庖”之意。在这里，警官的意思是Mrs. Collins不按警方的规矩办事。

8. civil disobedience: the refusal by ordinary people in a country to obey laws or pay taxes, usually as a protest.不合作主义，温和抵抗。

9. travesty: 滑稽，牵强附会。如果我们想表达“滑稽地模仿，对…进行戏弄或嘲讽），就可以用to make a travesty of来表示。

美国的陪审团制度

考考你 小试牛刀