Federal courthouses across the United States are taking steps large and small — including postponing trials and moving courtroom hearings to video conferences — as officials scramble to curtail public gatherings and limit the spread of the coronavirus.
美國各地的聯邦法院都在採取大大小小的措施,包括推遲審判和把法庭聽證會改為視頻會議,因為官員們都爭先恐後地減少公眾集會,限制冠狀病毒的傳播。
The impact on the federal court system is just one of a thousand ways in which the virus is dramatically altering life in the U.S. and across the world.
新冠病毒對聯邦法院體系的影響只是它給美國和全世界帶來巨大生活改變的千種方式之一。
Sporting events have been canceled, restaurants ordered temporarily shut to dine-in customers and schools have been told to close for weeks.
體育賽事被取消,供顧客用餐的餐館被勒令暫時關閉,學校也被勒令關閉數週。
The most dramatic effect so far on the federal judiciary was the Supreme Court's decision Monday to postpone oral arguments scheduled through April 1.
到目前為止,病毒對聯邦司法機構最大的影響是:最高法院於週一決定推遲原定於4月1日前展開的法院口頭辯論。
The court says that decision was not without precedent, noting that it postponed arguments in 1918 during the Spanish flu epidemic and also shortened its calendar in 1793 and 1798 because of yellow fever.
法院表示這一決定並非沒有先例,它在1918年西班牙流感流行期間就曾推遲了辯論,還因黃熱病在1793年和1798年縮短了法院的日程。
But there are 94 district courts and 13 circuit courts that also are grappling with how to handle the crisis. Last week, the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts put together a task force to share information and guidance as the crisis ripples across the country.
但有94個地區法院和13個巡迴法院也在努力想辦法如何應對危機。上週,隨著危機波及全美國,美國法院行政辦公室成立了一個特別工作組以分享信息和指導。
That body includes representative from the U.S. Marshals Service — which helps secure judges and courts — the Federal Occupational Health and other federal partners, the Administrative Office said.
行政辦公室說,該小組包括有助於保護法官和法院安全的美國司法部代表,還有聯邦職業健康組織和其他聯邦組織的成員。
But there is no blanket decision that covers all district and circuit courts. Instead, each is crafting its own response in coordination with state and local health officials.
但並沒有一個能涵蓋所有地區和巡迴法院的綜合決定。相反,每個法院都在與州和地方衛生官員協調製定自己的應對措施。
In the Southern District of New York, for example, all criminal trials scheduled to begin between Monday and April 27 have been postponed, according to an order from Chief Judge Colleen McMahon. Trials that have already started will continue, and grand juries will remain at work as well.
例如,在紐約南區,首席法官科琳麥克馬洪下令推遲所有定於本週一至4月27日開始的刑事審判。已經開始的審判將繼續進行,大陪審團也將繼續工作。
The district said judges may hold hearings and status conferences at their own discretion — but they've been encouraged to do so by phone or video conference.
該地區表示,法官可以自行決定舉行聽證會和情況會商,但法院鼓勵他們可以通過電話或視頻會議開展這些工作。
There are more than 900 confirmed coronavirus cases in New York state so far, and officials there have taken increasingly dramatic steps in recent days to try to curb the virus' spread.
到目前為止,紐約州已經有900多例新型冠狀病毒確診病例,當地官員最近幾天採取了越來越大力度的措施,試圖遏制病毒的傳播。
On the other side of the country, courts in the Western District of Washington, which is home to the hard-hit city of Seattle, Chief Judge Ricardo S. Martinez postponed all civil and criminal matters that require an appearance in court. Judges may still resolve written motions that don't require oral argument.
在美國另一邊,西雅圖重災區所在地——華盛頓西區,當地法院首席法官裡卡多·馬丁內斯推遲了所有需要出庭的民事和刑事事項。但法官仍然可以解決不需要口頭辯論的書面動議。
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