liangchueh

因為新聞工作, 長期前往法院聽審
礙於不懂專業術語
因此造成溝通困難
不僅難以參予其中
也不知如何發問 

近兩年的工作下
理出一點頭緒
也讓大家初步了解
"美國法院"

美國是標準以法治國的國度
上法庭早已是家常便飯
喜愛貪小便宜 遊走法律邊緣的華人
常不自覺的落入法網
難以翻身

華人多半不會殺人放火
以經濟, 科技, 詐欺, 接受賄賂, 間諜等罪行起訴堪稱
保險詐欺更是大宗 

美國法院不像部分好萊塢電影般"搞笑" 
事實上神聖且莊嚴

走進聖塔安那聯邦法院
民眾必須拖下鞋子
手機 筆記型電腦等電子產品必須拿出
也不可帶著相機入內
整個流程好比美國海關
絲毫不馬虎

警衛會詢問你來此目的
幾樓 幾廳 何案  
還會要求出示附有照片的有效證件 

地方法院則較寬鬆
只要不攜帶武器
掃描後便可入內 

走進法院必須肅靜
不可大聲講話 藐視法庭
更不可拿起手機'相機拍照

部分華文媒體在法院偷拍是違法行為
即便為了新聞, 也不可如此莽撞
我就是不願意賠了自己, 成就公司的人
因為輕者沒收機器, 趕出法庭
重者沒人知道會怎樣??? 

一般美國公民必需出庭當任陪審團或出席
美國車管局DMV會以電腦汽車駕照號碼自動篩選
民眾可上網延期出庭
也可以提出合理的藉口拒絕

(ps. 如英文不行或未滿18歲, 不是公民等等) 

但是, 絕對不可置之不理, 否則罰金伺候
版主也收過兩次法院出庭通知
最後回信婉拒 

基本上, 美國法院流程相當繁瑣(The criminal Court Process)
各州規定不一, 大體上如下: 

1.警方會先將罪犯資料送往當地檢察官辦公室

(police referred case to district attorney)

2. 檢察官審核案件, 有可能撤銷案情

reviewed by district attorney (may be declined)

3. 向法院起訴通知

(charges issued)

4. 開庭提出控告, 法官決定狀況和保釋金 

arraignment (bail & condition set by judge)

5. 若為重罪, 將有審前聽證會

Hearing (felony only)

pretrial or final conference

6.開庭抗辯

trial or find a guilty of plea

7. 結案定罪

sentenced

了解過程後
民眾前往法院也大致了解狀況
不會一無所知

若大型案件, 多半會審訊一整天
中午休息前會有人大喊recess(休庭)
此刻全體起立
直到法官說: recess為止
也會宣佈下午開庭時間 

接著便須了解專業法律英文詞彙 

Court English

1. 人物

judge-法官

(一般美國會以your honor稱呼, 並且不可任意接近, 若需呈上資訊或接近證人, 必須詢問法官, May I approach?)

jury-陪審團

The case will be decided by a judge not a jury.

(並非每件都有陪審團, 若牽涉國家安全, 多以法官一人裁決)

defendant-被告

Most convictions are the result of a plea of guilty by the defendant.

complaint-原告 

A legal document prepared by the DA based on police reports. It lists the charges and some of the evidence against the defendant. The complaint is filed in Court. 

dismissal-撤銷訴訟

The case is resulted in a dismissal. 

plea-抗辯 答辯

He entered a plea of "not guilty" to the charges filed against him.

probation-緩刑

Probation may be ordered when a sentence is withheld or stayed.

imprisonment-監禁

He was sentenced to life imprisonment.

revoke-吊銷

The police revoked his driver license.

Probable Cause-未經證實的訴訟 

A judicial determination that there is sufficient evidence for the case to proceed to trial. 

(有些案子可疑點眾多而起訴, 雖無直接證據, 但仍可進入法律程序 )

Restitution-賠償 

An amount of money set by the court to be paid to the victim of a crime for property losses or injuries caused by the crime. 

arraignment-傳訊 控告

misdemeanor-輕罪

A crime punishable by confinement in a county jail, for one year or less. (一年以下皆屬輕罪)

felony-重罪

(bind)Bound Over-有條件釋放 

At the completion of the preliminary hearing, if the judge finds that it is reasonable to believe that the defendant committed a felony, the defendant is sent to Court to stand trial. 

Subpoena-傳票 

A written order requiring a person to appear in court to testify. The subpoena states the date, time, place and proceeding at which the witness must appear. 

dismiss-駁回 

The judge dismissed the case for lack of evidence.

法官因缺乏證據而拒不受理這宗案件