密歇根新闻广播 总检察长候选人戴娜·奈索的首要任务

Dana Nessel is the Democratic candidate for attorney general. She has worked as an assistant prosecutor¹ in the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office. She also has experience as a defense² attorney. Her case challenging bans on same-sex marriage and adoption³ in Michigan became part of the cases that legalized same-sex marriage nationwide.

Flint Water Crisis Investigation⁴

DANA NESSEL: I've been suspect of this investigation quite frankly⁵ from the beginning. I think a lot of this has to do with political expediency⁶ instead of justice. I want to re-review the investigation. I want to have career prosecutors⁷, defense attorneys, retired⁸ judges, people who are not campaign contributors to any of the potential targets of the investigation, which frankly troubled me about Todd Flood because he had been a donor⁹ to Rick Snyder and I think if you're going to be free of a conflict of interest, you shouldn't have that as a conflict for certain. I'm going to take a second look at the investigation, make certain that all of the people who have charges pending¹⁰ have been charged properly and look to see if there's anyone who should have been charged, but who hasn't been.

Line 5 oil and gas pipeline¹¹

NESSEL: I have maintained from the very beginning that Line 5 needs to be shut downand that it is the responsibility of the attorney general to protect the state of Michigan and to protect the public against what I think will be the biggest economic and ecological¹² catastrophe¹³ of our time.

DOUG TRIBOU: What would be the legal justification¹⁴ for you to jump in in that role?

NESSEL: That it's violation¹⁵ of the easement. The easement is between Enbridge and the state of Michigan. And as the attorney for the state of Michigan, it's your job toenforce that contract and Enbridge has violated that contract and so I would bring a case in the Court of Claims and ask for an immediate¹⁶ injunction that Line 5 be shut down.

TRIBOU: The civil rights law known as the Elliott Larsen Act passed in Michigan in the 1970s. The Michigan Civil Rights Commission announced it would begin treating LGBTQ people as a protected group under the act – following guidance from some federal courts who have said that could fall under sex discrimination. Bill Schuette opposed that move. Where do you stand on that issue?

DN: I absolutely believe that the word sex as defined in the Elliott Larson Act encompasses¹⁷ sexual orientation¹⁸ and gender¹⁹ identity. And so I disagree with Bill Schuette's AG opinion, requested notably²⁰ by my opponent Tom Leonard who I know also disagrees, that LGBTQ people deserve to have rights under our state’s civil rights law. I think that statistically²¹ you're talking about at least half a million people, maybe even more who are state residents that have not been protected up until this point.

TRIBOU: You're on the record as being in favor of legalization of marijuana and have called the war on pot an "abject²² failure." Michigan Radio's Steve Carmody recently did a series looking at other states that have legalized pot. He spent some time in Colorado. In his reporting, he found that law enforcement has seen some issues develop. One of them is enforcing laws about driving under the influence. One of the problems there is the challenge of the science of testing for drugs rather than alcohol. Another is illegal pot being grown and shipped out of the state. How would you try to support law enforcement agencies if those problems come to Michigan?

NESSEL: The thing is, we have lagged behind in testing, right? That's why I'm encouraged by all the laboratories that are coming up with new and better ways to test for whether or not someone is under the influence of marijuana. And this can be utilized²³ not just in terms of law enforcement, but also in the workplace. There are these saliva²⁴ tests. They're pretty non-invasive and they can be done roadside. They only take a few minutes for the collection of saliva and you can find out pretty quickly whether somebody has consumed within the last couple of hours. And hopefully we'll have the scientific data collected to ensure that we can work with the Legislature to pass laws just as we have with the preliminary breath test. And I think that we will have those mechanisms²⁵ in place very quickly.

TRIBOU: Recently the state Supreme²⁶ Court heard arguments about the people who were wrongly accused of filing false unemployment claims. Now you have the state, which says it's paid back the bulk of the money that was improperly²⁷ garnished²⁸, pushing against a class action lawsuit²⁹ on a technicality of when it was filed. And that's what the arguments hinged on. How do you see that sort of thing where we know these people were wrongly accused, and then there's this pushback from the state?

NESSEL: First of all, I take issue with the notion that those people have been paid back. I don't think that's factually accurate. This is a perfect example of how I think this office has operated in a manner where it's more important to Bill Schuette to protect bad state actors than to protect the people who elected you and who you are sworn to protect.

And that doesn't mean using any kind of argument possible to defend the illegal actions of a government agency. Justice sometimes means settling those cases. Justice sometimes means admitting the government acted in error.

TRIBOU: If elected, there's a good chance you could be serving while Republicans maintain control in both houses of the state Legislature. And you'd be in charge of enforcing laws that have been enacted³⁰ in recent years by that Republican majority. Are there laws that would be hard for you to enforce?

NESSEL: It's not about my political preferences. It's about upholding the Constitution. If you have laws that flagrantly violate the Constitution, I don't believe that it's your job as AG to just come up with whatever specious³¹ arguments you possibly can to defend a law that is flagrantly unconstitutional, that violates the Constitution. It is your job to uphold and defend the Michigan Constitution and the United States Constitution. And so in those cases where the state Legislature has recklessly disregarded tenets of the Constitution, I think that it's unethical to defend those laws.

TRIBOU: Is there one that pops out to you that fits that model that you just described?

NESSEL: There is and let me give you an example of one we just saw. It had to do with the effort to rob teachers of three percent of their pensions.

TRIBOU: That's the case where the state set aside three percent of teachers' salariesto cover for long-term benefits, but that money was eventually returned after a court case.

NESSEL: That was indefensible. It violated the Michigan Constitution. Now the AG defended it. I believe he finally pulled out when he got to the Michigan Supreme Court, but it lost zero to seven with five Snyder appointees on that court and so in my opinion, that would be the kind of case where you really could step forward and say I'm sorry, but there's no viable³² defense here and I'm not going to waste millions and millions of dollars of state taxpayer's money to defend a law which simply has no viable defense.

1 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。

2 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。

3 adoption   

n.采用，采纳，通过；收养

参考例句：

• An adoption agency had sent the boys to two different families.一个收养机构把他们送给两个不同的家庭。
• The adoption of this policy would relieve them of a tremendous burden.采取这一政策会给他们解除一个巨大的负担。

4 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

5 frankly   

adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说

参考例句：

• To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说，我一点也不赞成这个主意。
• Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说，我不反对改革。

6 expediency   

n.适宜；方便；合算；利己

参考例句：

• The government is torn between principle and expediency. 政府在原则与权宜之间难于抉择。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• It was difficult to strike the right balance between justice and expediency. 在公正与私利之间很难两全。 来自辞典例句

7 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。

8 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

9 donor   

n.捐献者；赠送人；(组织、器官等的)供体

参考例句：

• In these cases,the recipient usually takes care of the donor afterwards.在这类情况下，接受捐献者以后通常会照顾捐赠者。
• The Doctor transplanted the donor's heart to Mike's chest cavity.医生将捐赠者的心脏移植进麦克的胸腔。

10 pending   

prep.直到，等待…期间；adj.待定的；迫近的

参考例句：

• The lawsuit is still pending in the state court.这案子仍在州法庭等待定夺。
• He knew my examination was pending.他知道我就要考试了。

11 pipeline   

n.管道，管线

参考例句：

• The pipeline supplies Jordan with 15 per cent of its crude oil.该管道供给约旦15%的原油。
• A single pipeline serves all the houses with water.一条单管路给所有的房子供水。

12 ecological   

adj.生态的，生态学的

参考例句：

• The region has been declared an ecological disaster zone.这个地区已经宣布为生态灾难区。
• Each animal has its ecological niche.每种动物都有自己的生态位.

13 catastrophe   

n.大灾难，大祸

参考例句：

• I owe it to you that I survived the catastrophe.亏得你我才大难不死。
• This is a catastrophe beyond human control.这是一场人类无法控制的灾难。

14 justification   

n.正当的理由；辩解的理由

参考例句：

• There's no justification for dividing the company into smaller units. 没有理由把公司划分成小单位。
• In the young there is a justification for this feeling. 在年轻人中有这种感觉是有理由的。

15 violation   

n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯

参考例句：

• He roared that was a violation of the rules.他大声说，那是违反规则的。
• He was fined 200 dollars for violation of traffic regulation.他因违反交通规则被罚款200美元。

16 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。

17 encompasses   

v.围绕( encompass的第三人称单数 )；包围；包含；包括

参考例句：

• The job encompasses a wide range of responsibilities. 这项工作涉及的职责范围很广。
• Its conservation law encompasses both its magnitude and its direction. 它的守恒定律包括大小和方向两方面。 来自辞典例句

18 orientation   

n.方向，目标；熟悉，适应，情况介绍

参考例句：

• Children need some orientation when they go to school.小孩子上学时需要适应。
• The traveller found his orientation with the aid of a good map.旅行者借助一幅好地图得知自己的方向。

19 gender   

n.（生理上的）性，（名词、代词等的）性

参考例句：

• French differs from English in having gender for all nouns.法语不同于英语，所有的名词都有性。
• Women are sometimes denied opportunities solely because of their gender.妇女有时仅仅因为性别而无法获得种种机会。

20 notably   

adv.值得注意地，显著地，尤其地，特别地

参考例句：

• Many students were absent,notably the monitor.许多学生缺席，特别是连班长也没来。
• A notably short,silver-haired man,he plays basketball with his staff several times a week.他个子明显较为矮小，一头银发，每周都会和他的员工一起打几次篮球。

21 statistically   

ad.根据统计数据来看，从统计学的观点来看

参考例句：

• The sample of building permits is larger and therefore, statistically satisfying. 建筑许可数的样本比较大，所以统计数据更令人满意。
• The results of each test would have to be statistically independent. 每次试验的结果在统计上必须是独立的。

22 abject   

adj.极可怜的，卑屈的

参考例句：

• This policy has turned out to be an abject failure.这一政策最后以惨败而告终。
• He had been obliged to offer an abject apology to Mr.Alleyne for his impertinence.他不得不低声下气，为他的无礼举动向艾莱恩先生请罪。

23 utilized   

v.利用，使用( utilize的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• In the19th century waterpower was widely utilized to generate electricity. 在19世纪人们大规模使用水力来发电。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The empty building can be utilized for city storage. 可以利用那栋空建筑物作城市的仓库。 来自《简明英汉词典》

24 saliva   

n.唾液，口水

参考例句：

• He wiped a dribble of saliva from his chin.他擦掉了下巴上的几滴口水。
• Saliva dribbled from the baby's mouth.唾液从婴儿的嘴里流了出来。

25 mechanisms   

n.机械( mechanism的名词复数 )；机械装置；[生物学] 机制；机械作用

参考例句：

• The research will provide direct insight into molecular mechanisms. 这项研究将使人能够直接地了解分子的机理。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He explained how the two mechanisms worked. 他解释这两台机械装置是如何工作的。 来自《简明英汉词典》

26 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

27 improperly   

不正确地，不适当地

参考例句：

• Of course it was acting improperly. 这样做就是不对嘛！
• He is trying to improperly influence a witness. 他在试图误导证人。

28 garnished   

v.给（上餐桌的食物）加装饰( garnish的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Her robes were garnished with gems. 她的礼服上装饰着宝石。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Serve the dish garnished with wedges of lime. 给这道菜配上几角酸橙。 来自《简明英汉词典》

29 lawsuit   

n.诉讼，控诉

参考例句：

• They threatened him with a lawsuit.他们以诉讼威逼他。
• He was perpetually involving himself in this long lawsuit.他使自己无休止地卷入这场长时间的诉讼。

30 enacted   

制定（法律），通过（法案）( enact的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• legislation enacted by parliament 由议会通过的法律
• Outside in the little lobby another scene was begin enacted. 外面的小休息室里又是另一番景象。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

31 specious   

adj.似是而非的；adv.似是而非地

参考例句：

• Such talk is actually specious and groundless.这些话实际上毫无根据，似是而非的。
• It is unlikely that the Duke was convinced by such specious arguments.公爵不太可能相信这种似是而非的论点。

32 viable   

adj.可行的，切实可行的，能活下去的

参考例句：

• The scheme is economically viable.这个计划从经济效益来看是可行的。
• The economy of the country is not viable.这个国家经济是难以维持的。