美国最高法院英文介绍

　　The Supreme¹ Court——The Highest Judicial² Authority最高法院——最高司法机关
The Supreme Court is comprised of nine justices who are appointed to the bench for life, or until voluntary retirement³. They are appointed by the President and must be confirmed by the U.S. Senate.
A Case's Path to the Supreme Court
While the Supreme Court may choose to hear cases directly, it most often selects cases that have been decided⁴ in lower courts. Participants in cases decided in lower courts can appeal to their state's highest or Supreme Court. If all state venues⁵ are exhausted⁶, litigants⁷ may appeal to the United States Supreme Court, the highest court in this country. Some cases may begin in federal courts at the start3 , and these can also end up here.
The nine justices choose which cases to take from those submitted to the Supreme Court. They can refuse to consider a case, accept a case for oral argument, or decide the case summarily without a hearing4. Each of these routes has an effect on the law. the decision not to hear a case allows a lower court's ruling to stand as precedent⁸, or guiding law for other states. The court often decides that a case should be heard in circumstances in which two or more lower courts have decided differently. This "split" in the opinions of lower courts is common in highly charged issues. In this circumstance, the court acts as final arbiter⁹ on a difficult issue.
The Final Decision —— The Majority Rules
The Supreme Court cases that are heard for oral argument are decided by a majority of the justices accepting one theory or opinion of the elements of the case. Basically, the side with most votes wins; that's why most cases have numbers like 7: 2 or 5: 4 that let us know how many judges voted for or against a particular case8. When there is no clear majority, the resulting decision is called a plurality opinion. It is the interpretation¹⁰ that receives more votes than any other opinion.
One justice usually writes the opinion for the majority, while others may write dissenting¹¹ opinions collectively or on their own. Justices who sign on to either the majority or minority opinion may also add their own opinions, singularly and collectively, that augment¹² the group opinion.
The 9 Justices
Today's Court is made up of justices nominated to the bench by Presidents Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford¹³, Ronald Reagan, George Bush and Bill Clinton. The youngest justice is 54; the oldest, 82. The current Court is closely divided between "conservative" and "liberal" elements.
译文
最高法院由九名大法官组成，他们都是终身任职制，除非他们自愿退休。他们由美国总统任命，并经美国参议院批准。
最高法院审理案件
最高法院可以直接选择审理案件，但是它经常会选择审理初级法院曾经审理过的案件。初级法院审理案件的当事人可以向州最高法院或者最高法院提起上诉。如果州的司法途径被用尽，诉讼当事人可以将案件上诉到美国的最高法院。一些案件的初审可能会在联邦法院，它们同时也可以在联邦级法院进行终审。
九名法官会从上诉到最高法院的案件中有选择地进行审理。他们可以拒绝审理一个案件，可以受理案件并进行口头辩论，还可以不经过听证粗略地对案件进行裁决。所有这些都会对法律产生影响：不经最高法院审理的案件的判决可以使初级法院的裁决成为先例，或者指导其他州的法律的执行。最高法院经常裁定，只有同一案件在两个或者更多的初级法院作出不同裁定的时候，才应该对这一案件召开听证会。在许多引起强烈争论的问题上，许多初级法院意见相左。在这种情况下，最高法院就这些难以处理的问题作最后的裁决。
终审判决——多数原则
最高法院受理的案件经口头辩论，由接受一种理论或者案件要素的法官的多数来决定。基本上，得到多数票的一方赢得诉讼；这就是为什么许多案件的判决结果会写明7：2或5：4，因为这样我们可以知道多少法官同意或者反对该案件的判决结果。当没有绝对半数通过时，判决结果称之为多数意见。它只是一个比其他意见赢得更多票数的解释。
一名法官通常会代替大多数法官撰写意见，其他人则共同地或单独地撰写不同意见。持多数派意见和持少数派意见的法官们都可以在判决书中加上他们自己的意见。
九名法官
现在最高法院的法官是由里查德·尼克松、杰拉尔德·福特、罗纳尔德·里根、乔治·布什和比尔·克林顿总统们任命的。最年轻的法官是53岁，最年长的法官是81岁。目前法院的法官明显分成保守派和自由派。

1 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。

2 judicial   

adj.司法的，法庭的，审判的，明断的，公正的

参考例句：

• He is a man with a judicial mind.他是个公正的人。
• Tom takes judicial proceedings against his father.汤姆对他的父亲正式提出诉讼。

3 retirement   

n.退休，退职

参考例句：

• She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
• I have to put everything away for my retirement.我必须把一切都积蓄起来以便退休后用。

4 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

5 venues   

n.聚集地点( venue的名词复数 )；会场；（尤指）体育比赛场所；犯罪地点

参考例句：

• The band will be playing at 20 different venues on their UK tour. 这个乐队在英国巡回演出期间将在20个不同的地点演出。
• Farmers market corner, 800 meters long, 60 meters wide livestock trading venues. 农牧市场东北角，有长800米，宽60米的牲畜交易场地。 来自互联网

6 exhausted   

adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的

参考例句：

• It was a long haul home and we arrived exhausted.搬运回家的这段路程特别长，到家时我们已筋疲力尽。
• Jenny was exhausted by the hustle of city life.珍妮被城市生活的忙乱弄得筋疲力尽。

7 litigants   

n.诉讼当事人( litigant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Litigants of the two parties may reconcile of their own accord. 双方当事人可以自行和解。 来自口语例句
• The litigants may appeal against a judgment or a ruling derived from the retrial. 当事人可就重审案件的判决或裁定进行上诉。 来自口语例句

8 precedent   

n.先例，前例；惯例；adj.在前的，在先的

参考例句：

• Is there a precedent for what you want me to do?你要我做的事有前例可援吗？
• This is a wonderful achievement without precedent in Chinese history.这是中国历史上亘古未有的奇绩。

9 arbiter   

n.仲裁人，公断人

参考例句：

• Andrew was the arbiter of the disagreement.安德鲁是那场纠纷的仲裁人。
• Experiment is the final arbiter in science.实验是科学的最后仲裁者。

10 interpretation   

n.解释，说明，描述；艺术处理

参考例句：

• His statement admits of one interpretation only.他的话只有一种解释。
• Analysis and interpretation is a very personal thing.分析与说明是个很主观的事情。

11 dissenting   

adj.不同意的

参考例句：

• He can't tolerate dissenting views. 他不能容纳不同意见。
• A dissenting opinion came from the aunt . 姑妈却提出不赞同的意见。

12 augment   

vt.(使)增大，增加，增长，扩张

参考例句：

• They hit upon another idea to augment their income.他们又想出一个增加收入的办法。
• The government's first concern was to augment the army and auxiliary forces.政府首先关心的是增强军队和辅助的力量。

13 Ford   

n.浅滩，水浅可涉处；v.涉水，涉过

参考例句：

• They were guarding the bridge,so we forded the river.他们驻守在那座桥上，所以我们只能涉水过河。
• If you decide to ford a stream,be extremely careful.如果已决定要涉过小溪，必须极度小心。