評論
打印
“Children are suffering,” says Toni Belford Damiano, president-elect of the Passaic County Bar Association.
“孩子們正在受苦，”帕塞伊克縣律師協會當選主席托尼·貝爾福德·達米亞諾說。
Judge shortages in New Jersey have caused trial delays, adding to a pandemic-related backlog.
新澤西州法官短缺導致審判延遲，增加了與疫情相關的案件積壓。
Families going through a divorce are struggling with uncertainty as they have to wait longer for custody hearings.
經歷了離婚的家庭正與不確定性作斗爭，因為他們必須等待更長時間才能舉行監護權聽證會。
In cases of domestic abuse, safety is a concern.
在家庭暴力案件中，安全是一個大問題。
“I’ve been doing this almost 40 years,” says Ms Damiano, a family-law practitioner.
達米亞諾女士是一名家庭法律從業者，她說:“我干這行快40年了?！?/p>
“Fairness requires timeliness.”
“公平需要及時性?！?/p>
But a lack of judges—and, in many other states, a shortage of other staff needed to keep courts going—are clogging up the system.
但是法官的短缺——在許多其他州，維持法院運轉所需的其他工作人員的短缺——正在堵塞這個系統。
Tim McGoughran, head of New Jersey’s bar association, says that, pre-pandemic, most divorce cases going to trial did so within a year.
新澤西州律師協會主席蒂姆·麥古夫蘭表示，在疫情爆發前，大多數離婚案件都是在一年內開庭審理的。
Now some are entering their third or fourth year.
現在有些已經進入了第三或第四年。
For the past three years, the court system has operated with an average of more than 60 judicial vacancies.
過去三年，法院系統平均有超過60個司法職位空缺。
Stuart Rabner, the state’s chief justice, has said the number should be no higher than 25 or 30 for the judiciary to best serve the public.
該州首席大法官斯圖爾特·拉布納表示，為了讓司法部門更好地為公眾服務，這一數字不應超過25或30。
Of 463 positions on the trial-court bench in the state, 55 are vacant.
在該州審判法庭的463個職位中，有55個空缺。
And by the end of the year another 11 judges are due to retire.
到今年年底，還有11名法官將退休。
In February Justice Rabner suspended civil and matrimonial trials in six counties.
今年2月，法官拉布納暫停了6個縣的民事和婚姻審判。
On July 5th he suspended trials in a seventh, Passaic County, except for very limited circumstances, from July 31st.
7月5日，他暫停了從7月31日起在帕塞伊克縣進行的審判，除非有極其特定的情況。
About half of America’s states appoint their judges, and half elect them.
美國大約一半州的法官是任命的，一半州是選舉出來的。
Vacancies tend to be low in election states.
在選舉的州，職位空缺往往很少。
New Jersey is not one of them: the governor nominates judges and the state Senate confirms the nominees.
新澤西州并不是其中之一：州長提名法官之后，州參議院會批準被提名者。
Phil Murphy, the governor, is not making enough nominations and the state Senate is not confirming the nominees it does have fast enough.
但州長菲爾·墨菲沒有提名足夠多的人，州參議院也沒有足夠快地確認被提名者。
Some also blame an unwritten rule of senatorial courtesy, which allows senators to block nominees who live in their home county from being considered, without giving a reason.
一些人還指責參議院禮節的不成文規則，該規則允許參議員在沒有給出理由的情況下，阻止居住在自己所在縣的候選人被提名。
Glenn Grant, the court’s administrative director, warned a Senate committee that the system was in crisis.
最高法院行政主任格倫·格蘭特警告參議院的一個委員會，稱該系統正處于危機之中。
In the meantime petitioners are in limbo.
與此同時，上訪者們陷入了困境。
Some lawyers have begun motioning for a change of trial venue.
一些律師已經開始提議改變審判地點。
