奥巴马提名埃琳娜·卡根出任最高法院大法官

    This is IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English.
    这里是美国之音慢速英语新闻报道节目。

    President Obama nominated Elena Kagan to the United States Supreme Court this week. She would replace retiring Justice John Paul Stevens on the nine-member Court.
    奥巴马总统本周向美国最高法院(以下简称高法)提名埃琳娜·卡根(Elena Kagan)(出任大法官),她将取代退休的约翰·保罗·史蒂文斯成为高法9名法官之一。

    BARACK OBAMA:"I have selected a nominee who I think embodies that same excellence, independence, integrity and passion for the law."
    奥巴马说:“我选择提名了一位我认为在法律方面表现卓越、独立、公正、富有激情的人选。”

    If confirmed by the Senate, the fifty-year-old Kagan would be the youngest justice on the current Supreme Court. She would be the fourth woman to ever serve on the Court.
    如果(对卡根的提名)获得参议院通过,那么,现年50岁的卡根将成为高法历史上第四位女法官,也将是高法现任大法官中最年轻一员。

    She would follow current Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor as well as retired Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.
    她将追随现任大法官鲁斯·金斯伯格(Ruth Bader Ginsburg)、索尼娅·索托马约尔(Sonia Sotomayor)以及退休的前任大法官桑德拉·黛·奥康纳(Sandra Day O'Conner)(的脚步)。(注:以上提到的是美国高法其他3位女法官)

    President Obama described Elena Kagan as "a trailblazer for women."
    总统奥巴马形容埃琳娜·卡根为“女性开拓者”。

    She is the first woman to serve as solicitor general of the United States and earlier, as head of Harvard Law School.
    她是美国历史上首位副总检察长(solicitor general),此前,她还担任哈佛法学院院长。

    Elena Kagan grew up in New York City, the daughter of a lawyer and a teacher. She attended Princeton University and Harvard Law School. Miz Kagan has extensive experience in the law and government. She worked as a lawyer in the Clinton and Obama administrations. As solicitor general, she argues cases for the United States government before the Supreme Court.
    埃琳娜·卡根在纽约长大,其父母分别是律师和教师。她曾就读于普林斯顿大学和哈佛大学法学院。卡根在法律和政府方面拥有广泛经验。她曾在克林顿和奥巴马政府期间担任律师。作为副检察长,她在高法为美国政府的案件辩护。

    ELENA KAGAN:"I have felt blessed to represent the United States before the Supreme Court, to walk into the highest court in this country when it is deciding its most important cases, cases that have an impact on so many people's lives."
    埃琳娜·卡根说:““我很荣幸,在对人们影响众多的案件审判时,能走进这个国家的最高法庭,代表美国政府辩护。”

    But unlike the other current Supreme Court justices, she has no experience as a judge. She was nominated for an appeals court judgeship in nineteen ninety-nine. But the Senate never voted on her nomination.
    但不同于其他现任高法大法官,她没有担任法官的经验。1999年她曾被提名为上诉法院法官,但参议院未就她的提名投票。

    Republicans in the Senate say they will ask about her lack of judicial experience during confirmation hearings. Several Supreme Court justices throughout history have had no earlier experience as a judge. Yet Miz Kagan would be the first in almost forty years.
    共和党参议员称,听证会期间,他们会对她司法经验的缺乏作出询问。历史上曾有数位高法大法官不此前同样具备法官经验。然而,卡根将是近40年以来的首位。

    She may also face opposition for an action she took while dean of Harvard Law School. She briefly barred military recruiters
    from using law school facilities. She said the policy of barring homosexuals from openly serving in the military violated the university's policy against sexual discrimination.
    她可能还将因为担任哈佛法学院院长期间的一项举动而遭到发对。她曾一度禁止军方征兵人员使用法学院设施。她说,禁止公开同性恋者在军队中任职的政策违背了大学的禁止性别歧视的政策。

    Elena Kagan is Jewish. If confirmed, she would join two other Jewish justices and six Roman Catholics. There would be no Protestant justices for the first time in the Supreme Court's history. Protestants are the country's largest religious group.
    埃琳娜·卡根是犹太人。如果提名被确认,她将加入另外2个犹太法官和6个天主教徒法官的行列。这将是高法历史上首次没有新教徒法官。新教是美国最大的宗教。

    Legal experts consider Elena Kagan a moderate nominee. They say this should help her in the confirmation process. Democrats control fifty-nine of the one hundred votes in the Senate.
    法律专家认为埃琳娜·卡根是个温和的被提名人。他们说,在提名确认过程中,这应该对她有利。民主党控制了参议院100席议席中的59席。

    No date has been set for confirmation hearings by the Senate Judiciary Committee. However, President Obama and Democrats in the Senate hope to have Elena Kagan confirmed in the next few months. Then she could take her seat on the Supreme Court when it meets in October.
    参议院司法委员会的确认听证会日期尚未确定,不过奥巴马总统和民主党参议员希望在未来的几个月里,埃琳娜·卡根的提名能被确认。然后,在10月份高法会议时她可以就职。