VOA新闻杂志2022--美国高等法院卷入文化战争

US High Court Enters Culture War

The United States Supreme¹ Court has again placed itself in the middle of America's most divisive issues.

Last week, the nation's highest court agreed to hear a case on the admissions policies of Harvard University and the University of North Carolina. The two universities use race as one of many things they consider in admissions decisions. A ruling against the universities, however, could seriously damage affirmative action.

Affirmative action is a practice or policy of helping² individuals belonging to groups known to have been discriminated³ against previously⁴. It is a policy long criticized by conservative Americans.

The court has already reviewed cases looking to restrict abortion⁵ rights and expand gun rights. Both are major goals of conservatives.

The court's rulings on abortions⁶ and guns will come in June. And a ruling in college admissions is expected next year.

A more forceful court

The court has become more forceful since the addition of Justice Amy Coney Barrett. She was the third conservative justice nominated by former President Donald Trump⁷.

Barrett's seat gave the nation's highest court a 6-3 conservative majority and changed its balance of power.

"This particular six-justice majority seems willing to push ahead in an aggressively conservative direction on multiple fronts," said Elizabeth Wydra. She is president of the liberal group Constitutional Accountability Center.

She added that the majority is ignoring the ideas of judicial⁸ restraint and stare decisis.

Judicial restraint leaves policy-making decisions to the executive and legislative⁹ branches of government. And stare decisis is the legal belief of respecting past court rulings.

Observers say that based on oral arguments from a case brought by the state of Mississippi last year, the court's conservatives seem prepared to weaken or even overturn the 1973 Roe¹⁰ v. Wade¹¹ decision. The Roe v. Wade ruling effectively legalized abortion in the U.S. The court also appeared ready to rule against a New York state law that limits the right to carry guns in public.

Others say the court's willingness to hear these cases is a sign of how the conservative majority is moving the court to the political right.

‘Political appearance'

Four justices are needed for the Supreme Court to hear a case. And it has at least that many who are not worried about being seen as politically motivated, said Joshua Wilson. He is a professor at the University of Denver and is an expert on conservative law and politics.

"Given the political appearance" of the kinds of cases they hear, "it's all the more remarkable¹² given that they have to know how much the public is paying attention," Wilson said.

The high court's conservative majority has been critical of the power of federal agencies. The action could be described by conservatives as a "war on the administrative¹³ state."

The court, for example, this month blocked the Biden administration's COVID-19 vaccination-or-testing requirement for companies with at least 100 workers. The justices also heard two cases challenging environmental laws aimed at reducing air and water pollution. They did so even though Biden's administration asked them to wait while agencies write new rules.

Ian Fein is a lawyer with the Natural Resources Defense¹⁴ Council environmental group. He said the court was "incredibly aggressive" in taking up the two cases.

The court also seems to support religious rights. It has ruled in favor of religious groups challenging COVID-19 restrictions¹⁵. And last week, the court heard a case from Maine that could expand public funding of religious groups.

Words in This Story

aggressive — adj. using forceful methods to succeed or to do something

multiple — adj. more than one

motivate — v. to give a reason for doing something

remarkable — adj. unusual or surprising

challenge — v. to question the action or authority of

incredible — adj. difficult or impossible to believe

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 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

3 discriminated   

分别，辨别，区分( discriminate的过去式和过去分词 )； 歧视，有差别地对待

参考例句：

• His great size discriminated him from his followers. 他的宽广身材使他不同于他的部下。
• Should be a person that has second liver virus discriminated against? 一个患有乙肝病毒的人是不是就应该被人歧视？

4 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

5 abortion   

n.流产，堕胎

参考例句：

• She had an abortion at the women's health clinic.她在妇女保健医院做了流产手术。
• A number of considerations have led her to have a wilful abortion.多种考虑使她执意堕胎。

6 abortions   

n.小产( abortion的名词复数 )；小产胎儿；（计划）等中止或夭折；败育

参考例句：

• The Venerable Master: By not having abortions, by not killing living beings. 上人：不堕胎、不杀生。 来自互联网
• Conclusion Chromosome abnormality is one of the causes of spontaneous abortions. 结论：染色体异常是导致反复自然流产的原因之一。 来自互联网

7 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

8 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。

9 legislative   

n.立法机构，立法权；adj.立法的，有立法权的

参考例句：

• Congress is the legislative branch of the U.S. government.国会是美国政府的立法部门。
• Today's hearing was just the first step in the legislative process.今天的听证会只是展开立法程序的第一步。

10 roe   

n.鱼卵；獐鹿

参考例句：

• We will serve smoked cod's roe at the dinner.宴会上我们将上一道熏鳕鱼子。
• I'll scramble some eggs with roe?我用鱼籽炒几个鸡蛋好吗？

11 wade   

v.跋涉，涉水；n.跋涉

参考例句：

• We had to wade through the river to the opposite bank.我们只好涉水过河到对岸。
• We cannot but wade across the river.我们只好趟水过去。

12 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

13 administrative   

adj.行政的，管理的

参考例句：

• The administrative burden must be lifted from local government.必须解除地方政府的行政负担。
• He regarded all these administrative details as beneath his notice.他认为行政管理上的这些琐事都不值一顾。

14 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。

15 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制