2006年VOA标准英语-US Judge Temporarily Suspends Moussaoui Tr
时间：2019-01-30 作者：英语课 分类：2006年VOA标准英语（三月）
By Stephanie Ho
Washington
13 March 2006
A federal judge has ordered a temporary halt in the sentencing trial of Zacarias Moussaoui, the only person charged in the United States in connection with the September 11th, 2001, terrorist attacks.
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Artist's rendering 1 of prosecutor 2 David Novak, right, and defense 3 attourney Edward MacMahon, center, pleading their cases to Judge Leonie Brinkema during Zacarius Moussaoui's sentencing trial, March 9, 2006
U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema has called for a recess 4 in court proceedings 5 aimed at deciding whether confessed al-Qaida conspirator 6 Zacarias Moussaoui should face the death penalty, which is the sentence requested by the government. The other possibility is life in prison, without chance of parole.
Moussaoui last year pleaded guilty to conspiracy 7 charges in the September 11th, 2001, terrorist attacks in the United States, which killed nearly 3,000 people. At the time, he told the court he was involved in a planned attack on the White House.
Judge Brinkema said a federal lawyer violated a pretrial order that barred prosecutors 8 from sharing information with witnesses. The judge called the violation 9 "egregious," and added that it is "very difficult for this case to go forward."
The judge said this is the government's "second significant error" affecting Moussaoui's "constitutional rights," and said this affects the "integrity of the U.S. criminal justice system."
Defense lawyer Ed MacMahon said Moussaoui would not get a fair trial. He had asked the judge to dismiss the death penalty, and instead sentence the defendant 10 to life in prison.
Alberto Gonzales at a press conference, March 13, 2006
Reporters at the Justice Department asked U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales about the case.
"I'm not going to speculate on what the judge may or may not do," he said. "And, given where we are in the state of this trial, it would be inappropriate for me to comment at all."
Outside the court room, Eddie Bracken, whose sister died in the 9/11 attacks, said he would be upset and disappointed at the process if Moussaoui is not sentenced to death.
Eddie Bracken speaks after fifth day of Moussaoui sentencing trial in Alexandria, Virginia
"If we don't use him as an example, then there'll be another person stepping up and saying, 'you know what? I'll get away with it," he said.
He says the families of 9/11 victims are very interested in what happens to Moussaoui.
"He's the only one alive that we can get," Bracken said.
Judge Brinkema has several options. She could accept the defense motion to dismiss the government's bid for a death penalty. She could also let the trial continue, with some or none of the witnesses excluded. Or, if she declares a mistrial, the government could retry the case.
The judge is holding a special hearing Tuesday with the offending government lawyer and the witnesses he is accused of coaching. The Moussaoui sentencing trial, which started March 6, could resume as early as Wednesday.
- She gave a splendid rendering of Beethoven's piano sonata.她精彩地演奏了贝多芬的钢琴奏鸣曲。
- His narrative is a super rendering of dialect speech and idiom.他的叙述是方言和土语最成功的运用。
- The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。
- The prosecutor would tear your testimony to pieces.检查官会把你的证言驳得体无完肤。
- The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
- The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。
- The chairman of the meeting announced a ten-minute recess.会议主席宣布休会10分钟。
- Parliament was hastily recalled from recess.休会的议员被匆匆召回开会。
- He was released on bail pending committal proceedings. 他交保获释正在候审。
- to initiate legal proceedings against sb 对某人提起诉讼
- We started abusing him,one conspirator after another adding his bitter words.我们这几个预谋者一个接一个地咒骂他，恶狠狠地骂个不停。
- A conspirator is not of the stuff to bear surprises.谋反者是经不起惊吓的。
- The men were found guilty of conspiracy to murder.这些人被裁决犯有阴谋杀人罪。
- He claimed that it was all a conspiracy against him.他声称这一切都是一场针对他的阴谋。
- In some places,public prosecutors are elected rather than appointed. 在有些地方，检察官是经选举而非任命产生的。 来自口语例句
- You've been summoned to the Prosecutors' Office, 2 days later. 你在两天以后被宣到了检察官的办公室。
- He roared that was a violation of the rules.他大声说，那是违反规则的。
- He was fined 200 dollars for violation of traffic regulation.他因违反交通规则被罚款200美元。