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如何阅读英文案例?

分类: 法律英语考试 
第一部分案例通常由下列几个部分组成

一、案例名称(Case Name);例如:Marbury v. Madison (马伯里诉麦迪逊), v is short for versus.是“诉”的意思。

二、判决法院(Court rendering the opinion);例如:New Jersey Supreme Court (新泽西最高法院)。

三、卷宗号;案号(Citation);例如:93 N.J324, 461 A. 2d 138 (1983),这说明该案出自《新西汇编》第93卷,第324页,以及《大西洋汇编》第二辑第138页,该案判决于1983年。此处,A 是Atlantic Reporter的缩写。像这种指明两个或两个以上出处的卷宗号叫作:“平行卷宗号”,其英语表达为“parallel citation”,意思是“An additional reference to a case that has been reported in more than more reporter.”广义上卷宗号包括上述一、案例名称;二、判决法院。

四、主审法官姓名(Justice wrote the opinion)。

五、判决书 (opinion: stating the issue raised, describing the parties and facts, discussing the relevant law, and rendering judgment.)判决书是整个案例的主体部分,其中包括法律争议(Issue)、双方当事人情况、事实经过、判决采用的相关法律以及判决结果。

判决书的阅读过程之中,要注意以下几点:1. 时态主审法官的意见用现在时态;前审法院的意见用过去时态。2. 主审法官的意见是法院意见。3除法院意见外还有两种意见,它们被称为“反对意见”(dissenting opinion or dissent)与“配合意见”(concurring opinion)。Dissenting opinion: opinion offered by a judge disagreeing with the majority panel of judges' conclusion; “反对意见”指不同意大多数法官判决结论之某一法官的意见;Concurring opinion: opinion written by a judge agreeing with the majority's conclusion but not its reasoning. “配合意见”是指同意大多数法官的意见,但是不同意判决结论的推理之某一法官的意见。

六、法庭投票(Votes of the court)例如在七名大法官审理的情况下,有几名法官的意见是“维持原判”(affirmance),有几名法官的意见是“撤销原判、发回重审”(reversal and remandment)。

第二部分

一、什么是citation?

由于卷宗号这一块涉及内容庞杂,这里再逐一特别说明一下。我们首先来看一下《布莱克法律字典》中citation的定义:A reference to a legal precedent or authority, such as a case, statute, or treatise, that either substantiates or contradicts a given position. (p.237) 7th edition. 由于a citation is a reference to a legal authority,因此,citation必须要有一个标准,这样以后的参考者才容易检索得到。正如《布莱克法律字典》所指出的一样,Citation formats exist for many different types of legal sources including cases, statutes and secondary legal materials. Understanding the basic format for each of these different types of sources will enable the researcher to more independently locate materials in the law library.7 l1

案例之中的卷宗号通常包括下列几个部分:

a. 案件双方当事人姓名(the names of the parties involved in the lawsuit);

b. 包含案件全文的汇编卷号( the volume number of the reporter containing the full text of the case);

c. 该案例汇编的缩写名称(the abbreviated name of that case reporter);

d. 案例开始的页码数(the page number on which the case begins);

e. 案件判决年份(the year the case was decided);有时还包括

f. 案件判决法院(the name of the court deciding the case)。

举例说明: Hebb v. Severson, 201 P.2d 156 (Wash. 1948). 在这个例子当中,Hebb是原告(plaintiff),Severson 是被告(defendant)。我们可以在《太平洋汇编》第二辑201卷第156页(volume 201 of the Pacific Reporter Second Series beginning on page 156)找到这一案例。该案是由华盛顿州最高法院(Washington State Supreme Court)于1948年判决的。

二、 如何阅读案例(cases)之中的citation?

确定卷宗号之中的缩略码。请对照下列列表,找出缩略码(abbreviation)的汇编全称(full reporter title).

Abbreviation Title 汉语汇编名称)

EA. Atlantic Reporter 大西洋汇编

A. 2d. Atlantic Reporter, 2d Series 大西洋汇编第二辑

Cal. Rep. California Reporter 加利福尼亚州汇编

F. Federal Reporter 联邦汇编

F. 2d. Federal Reporter, 2d Series 联邦汇编第二辑

F. 3d. Federal Reporter, 3d Series 联邦汇编第三辑

F. Supp. Federal Supplement 联邦补充案例

L. Ed. U.S. Supreme Court Decisions, Lawyers' Edition 美国最高法院案例汇编,律师版

L. Ed. 2d. U.S. Supreme Court Decisions, Lawyers Edition, 2d Series 美国最高法院案例汇编,律师版第二辑

N. E. Northeastern Reporter 东北汇编

N. E. 2d. Northeastern Reporter, 2d Series 东北汇编第二辑

N. W. Northwestern Reporter 西北汇编

N. W. 2d. Northwestern Reporter, 2d Series 西北汇编第二辑

N. Y. S. New York Supplement 纽约补充案例

N. Y. S. 2d. New York Supplement, 2d Series 纽约补充案例第二辑

Pacific Reporter 太平洋汇编

2d. Pacific Reporter, 2d Series 太平洋汇编第二辑

S. Ct. Supreme Court Reporter 最高法院案例汇编

S. E. Southeastern Reporter 东南汇编

BS. E. 2d. Southeastern Reporter, 2d Series 东南汇编第二辑

So. Southern Reporter 南方汇编

So. 2d. Southern Reporter, 2d Series 南方汇编第二辑

QS. W. Southwestern Reporter 西南汇编

S. W. 2d. Southwestern Reporter, 2d Series 西南汇编第二辑

U. S. United States Reports 美国案例汇编

再举两例说明,例如:Morgan v. United States, 298 U.S.468, 56 S. Ct 906, 80L.Ed. 1288 (1936) 表示:摩根诉美国,收集在美国案例汇编第298卷,468页开始;最高法院案例汇编第56卷906页开始;美国最高法院案例汇编律师版第80卷,1288页开始,1936年判决。 For example, a popular name for a Supreme Court case is:

Which translates as Plaintiff versus Defendant

原告 罗 诉 被告魏德

The official citation for this Supreme Court decision is:

410 U.S. 113

Which translates as Volume 410 United Stated Reports Page 113

410卷 美国案例汇编 113页

There are several different publishers for legal documents such as court decisions. (Libraries usually only carry one of these published versions.) These publishers may be referred to in parallel citations for this case.

例如,该案的平行汇编是:

93 S. Ct. 705

Which translates as Volume 93 Supreme Court Reporter Page 705, g7

第93卷 最高法院案例汇编 705页4 ]

Or

35 L. Ed. 2d 147

Which translates as Volume 35 U.S. Supreme Court Reports, Lawyers Edition, 2nd Series Page 147第35卷 美国最高法院案例汇编律师版第二辑 147页

该案完整的卷宗号(full citation)就是:

Roe v. Wade 410 U.S. 113 93 S. Ct. 705 35 L. Ed. 2d.147 1972

Case name Official citation Parallel citation parallel citation Date of opinion

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