Slow and Steady Wins the Race!
ECONOMICS REPORT - Money, Influence and the Election of Judges
2009 年 6 月 12 日 VOA 经济报道 – 金钱、影响与法官选举
This is the VOA Special English Economics Report.
这里是 VOA 特别英语的经济报道
Elected judges in the United States got a warning this week about money, politics and the law. The Supreme Court ruled that a huge campaign donation can be reason enough not to judge a case involving the donor.
本周，美国当选法官就金钱、政治与法律受到警告。最高法院裁定，巨额竞选捐款理由充分，足以使（法官）不得裁定涉及捐款人的案例。
Thirty-nine of the fifty states elect at least some of their judges. Terms can last from two to twelve years. Experts say Japan and Switzerland are the only other countries that hold some kind of judicial elections.
50 个州中，有 39 个在竞选（至少是部分）法官，而法官的任期为二到十二年。专家称，日本和瑞士是仅有的进行某种法官选举的另外二个国家。
In many states, elections for judges are increasingly competitive. The Justice at Stake Campaign says candidates raised one hundred sixty-eight million dollars between two thousand and two thousand seven. The group says that was double the amount raised in the nineteen nineties.
在许多州，法官选举的竞争不断加剧。 JAS （权益公正）运动组织称，在 2000 － 2007 年间，候选人募集了 1.68 万亿美元。该组织称，这一募集资金是 1990 年代所募集资金的两倍。
Critics say the situation threatens the fairness of state courts. It may create the appearance that judges are selling their influence.
评论人士称，这种情况威胁到州法院的公正性。它可能造成法官在兜售其影响的表象。
The Supreme Court ruled on a vote by a judge elected to West Virginia's high court five years ago. Justice Brent Benjamin -- now chief justice -- voted to overturn a fifty million dollar judgment against the Massey Coal Company.
最高法院就五年前当选为西弗吉尼亚州最高法院一法官的投票作出了裁决。布伦特 • 本杰明法官，即现首席法官，投票从而否决了对梅西煤矿公司五千万美元的判决。
Massey's chairman had spent three million dollars to help elect him to the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals. That was after the company lost a jury trial over a business dispute.
梅西公司董事长耗资三百万美元，帮助他当选为西弗吉尼亚州最高上诉法院法官。那是发生在该公司一次由陪审团审案的商业纠纷失利之后。
Justice Benjamin refused to remove himself from Massey's appeal and cast the deciding vote. The reason he gave for not recusing himself was that there was no financial gain for him in making his decision. The donations, however, represented about sixty percent of all his campaign money.
本杰明法官拒绝从梅西上诉案中回避，并投了决定票。其提出没有回避的理由是他在所作决定中没有经济获益。但是，该项捐款约占他竞选费用的 60% 。
The United States Supreme Court found that the "extreme facts" of the case raised the probability of bias to an unconstitutional level. Not every campaign gift requires a judge's recusal, the court said, "but this is an exceptional case."
美国最高法院发现，此类 “ 极端事例 ” 使偏袒的可能性达到违宪的程度。最高法院说，并非所有的竞选捐赠都要求法官回避， “ 但这是一特例 ” 。
Yet the nine justices were narrowly divided in their opinion. Chief Justice John Roberts was one of four dissenters. He said the court provided no guidance about when recusal will be constitutionally required. This, he said, will lead to an increase in claims that judges are biased, "however groundless those charges may be."
然而，九位法官的正反意见极为接近。首席法官约翰 • 罗伯茨曾是四位反对者之一；他说，法院并未提供宪法要求回避的指南。他说，这将导致法官有不公之类的诉求上升， “ 尽管那些指控可能毫无依据。 ”
The American Bar Association's Committee on Judicial Independence is working on guidelines for when judges should recuse themselves. Committee chairman William Weisenberg says the lawyers group is for greater use of merit-based selections. This is where a committee nominates candidates to the state governor for appointment.
美国律师协会的司法独立委员会正在制订法官何时应该回避的指南。委员会主席威廉 • 瓦赛博阁称，该律师组织正在加大择优录用的范围，这也正是一委员会向州长提名候选人供其（州长）任命之所在。
And that's the VOA Special English Economics Report. I'm Mario Ritter.
以上是 VOA 特别英语的经济报道。我是 Mario Ritter 。
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该帖于2009年6月13日被版主推荐为精华帖。
