法律英语 第四课 司法系统.doc

Lesson 4 Judicial System 第四课 司法系统 HOW ARE STATE-LEVEL COURTS ORGANIZED IN ILLINOIS? 一、伊利诺斯的州级法院是怎样组成的？ In 1964, Illinois became the first state in the nation to adopt a truly unified court system -- that is, a system with a uniform structure throughout the entire state and with centralized, rather than local, administration and rule-making. 1964年，伊利诺斯成为全美第一个实行真正意义上统一法院体系的州。这一体制包括整个州统一的法院结构，以及集中的而非地方的行政和管理体制。 Prior to the 1964 reorganization, Illinois had a variety of different courts, including justice-of-the-peace courts and police magistrate courts. 1964年重组之前，伊利诺斯有各种不同的法院，包括治安法院和督察法院。 Court unification eliminated all courts at the trial level except the circuit courts, thus creating a single, unified, statewide court system. 在初审这一等级上，法院统一工作取消了除巡回法院以外所有的法院，创造了一个单一的、统一的、全州范围的法院体系。 Illinois court system has three levels, with trial, intermediate appellate, and supreme courts. 伊利诺斯的法院体系有三个等级：初审法院、中级上诉法院和最高法院： （注意用词的规范） The vast majority of felony and misdemeanor cases are heard and resolved in the trial -- or circuit -- courts, the first tier in the system. Felony 重罪 Misdemeanor 轻罪 the trial courts 和the circuit courts是什么关系？考虑前面出现过的内容。 绝大多数的重罪和轻罪案件在初审法院即巡回法院进行审理和判决，巡回法院是这一体系中的第一个等级。 Circuit courts are responsible for reviewing the facts of a case and rendering a disposition. Disposition 提出的判决 巡回法院负责审查案件的事实并作出判决。 The second tier in the system is a single, intermediate court of appeals, and the third tier is the Illinois Supreme Court, which can have either original or appellate jurisdiction, depending on the case. 体系中的第二等级是独立的中级上诉法院，第三等级是伊利诺斯最高法院，最高法院可以根据具体案情，对于案件的初审和上诉进行裁决。 While all 50 states have courts of last resort (which Illinois calls the Supreme Court), Illinois is one of only 37 states that have intermediate courts of appeal. 虽然全美50个州均有终审法院（伊利斯称之为最高法院），伊利诺斯是有中级上诉法院的37个州之一。 The Appellate and Supreme courts in Illinois are responsible for seeing that the law was properly interpreted and applied in particular cases tried in the circuit courts. 伊利诺斯