新西兰英语 146 Limit to Jury Trials

　　The Minister of Justice, Simon Power, wants to limit trial by jury¹ to serious crimes. At the moment, anyone who is accused of a crime which could bring a sentence of three months in jail², can choose to have a jury trial. The problem is that this takes a long time. People waiting for their case to come up in the District Court are now waiting around 12 months while people waiting for a High Court case usually have to wait 18 months. Simon Power wants to change the law so that only those accused of a crime which brings a sentence of three years or more can choose trial by jury. More minor³ crimes would be tried by a judge alone.

1 jury   

n.陪审团，评委会；adj.临时用的；vt.挑选

参考例句：

• These twelve men are believed to compose the jury.据信，陪审团是由这12人组成的。
• The members of the jury were discharged from their duties.陪审员们被解除了职务。

2 jail   

n.监狱，看守所；vt.监禁，拘留

参考例句：

• The castle had been used as a jail.这城堡曾用作监狱。
• If she carries on shoplifting,she'll end up in jail.她如果还在店铺里偷东西，最终会被抓进监狱的。

3 minor   

adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修

参考例句：

• The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
• I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。