为遏制冠状病毒传播,美国各地法院采取了各类限制措施

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.

美国各地的联邦法院都在采取大大小小的措施,包括推迟审判和把法庭听证会改为视频会议,因为官员们都争先恐后地减少公众集会,限制冠状病毒的传播。

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.

新冠病毒对联邦法院体系的影响只是它给美国和全世界带来巨大生活改变的千种方式之一。

Sporting events have been canceled, restaurants ordered temporarily shut to dine-in customers and schools have been told to close for weeks.

体育赛事被取消,供顾客用餐的餐馆被勒令暂时关闭,学校也被勒令关闭数周。

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.

到目前为止,病毒对联邦司法机构最大的影响是:最高法院于周一决定推迟原定于4月1日前展开的法院口头辩论。

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.

法院表示这一决定并非没有先例,它在1918年西班牙流感流行期间就曾推迟了辩论,还因黄热病在1793年和1798年缩短了法院的日程。

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个地区法院和13个巡回法院也在努力想办法如何应对危机。上周,随着危机波及全美国,美国法院行政办公室成立了一个特别工作组以分享信息和指导。

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.

行政办公室说,该小组包括有助于保护法官和法院安全的美国司法部代表,还有联邦职业健康组织和其他联邦组织的成员。


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.

但并没有一个能涵盖所有地区和巡回法院的综合决定。相反,每个法院都在与州和地方卫生官员协调制定自己的应对措施。

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,在纽约南区,首席法官科琳麦克马洪下令推迟所有定于本周一至4月27日开始的刑事审判。已经开始的审判将继续进行,大陪审团也将继续工作。

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.

该地区表示,法官可以自行决定举行听证会和情况会商,但法院鼓励他们可以通过电话或视频会议开展这些工作。

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.

到目前为止,纽约州已经有900多例新型冠状病毒确诊病例,当地官员最近几天采取了越来越大力度的措施,试图遏制病毒的传播。

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.

在美国另一边,西雅图重灾区所在地——华盛顿西区,当地法院首席法官里卡多·马丁内斯推迟了所有需要出庭的民事和刑事事项。但法官仍然可以解决不需要口头辩论的书面动议。


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