紐時賞析／川普終止出生公民權 美最高院將展開口頭辯論

Supreme Court Set to Consider Birthright Ban

終止出生公民權 美最高院將口頭辯論

The Supreme Court on Thursday announced that it would hear arguments in a few weeks over President Donald Trump’s executive order ending birthright citizenship.

聯邦最高法院周四宣布，將在數周內針對總統川普以行政命令終止出生公民權進行口頭辯論。

The brief order by the justices was unsigned and gave no reasoning, as is typical in such emergency cases. But the move is a sign that the justices consider the matter significant enough that they would immediately consider it, rather than letting it play out in lower courts.

該項由大法官發布的簡短命令未具署名，亦未附理由，這是處理緊急案件的常規。但此舉顯示，大法官認為該議題具有重大意義，值得即刻審理，而非任其於下級法院耗時進行。

The justices announced they would defer any consideration of the government’s request to lift a nationwide pause on the policy until they heard oral arguments, which they set for May 15.

大法官並宣布，將延後對聯邦政府請求解除全國範圍內該政策暫停令之審查，直至5月15日舉行口頭辯論後再行考慮。

That means that the executive order, which would end birthright citizenship for the children of immigrants in the country without legal permission and foreign residents, will remain paused in every state while the court considers the case.

即，在最高法院裁決之前，該行政命令—旨在終止非法居留移民與外籍居民在美所生子女之出生公民權—將繼續於全美各州暫停實施。

In three emergency applications, the Trump administration asked the Supreme Court to find that lower courts had erred in imposing bans on the policy that extended beyond the parties involved in the litigation. It did not ask the court to weigh in on the constitutionality of the executive order, which was challenged soon after it was signed.

川普政府曾三度向最高法院提出緊急聲請，請求裁定下級法院在對該政策發布普遍性禁令時所為裁決為誤。惟政府並未要求最高法院針對該行政命令之合憲性作出裁定。該行政命令自簽署後即遭提起訴訟。

On Trump’s first day in office, he issued the executive order ending birthright citizenship, the guarantee that a person born in the United States is automatically a citizen, for certain children.

川普於上任首日即簽署該行政命令，旨在終止對特定兒童之出生公民權保障—該保障意指凡在美國出生者，即自動取得國籍。

Birthright citizenship has long been considered a central tenet of the United States. The 14th Amendment, ratified after the Civil War, declares that “all persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside.”

出生公民權歷來被視為美國公民身分之核心原則。美國憲法第十四增修條文係於南北戰爭結束後通過，其條文明定：「任何人，凡在合眾國出生或歸化合眾國並受其管轄者，均為合眾國及所居住之州的公民。」

In 1898, the Supreme Court affirmed that right in a landmark case, United States v. Wong Kim Ark, guaranteeing automatic citizenship for nearly all children born in the country. Since then, courts have upheld that expansive interpretation.

1898年，美國最高法院在具里程碑意義之「美國訴黃金德案」中確認此項權利，保障幾乎所有出生於美國之兒童自動取得公民資格。自此以來，各級法院亦多遵循該擴張性解釋。

Some allies of Trump have argued that the 14th Amendment should never have been interpreted to give citizenship to everyone born in the country. Among them: John Eastman, a constitutional law scholar and former Supreme Court law clerk who was one of the architects of the scheme to create fake slates of pro-Trump electors in states that Joe Biden won in the 2020 election.

川普之若干盟友主張，第十四增修條文不應被解釋為賦予所有出生於美國者公民身分。主張者之一為約翰．伊斯曼，是憲法學者及最高法院前書記官，並曾參與設計2020年總統大選中，於拜登獲勝州偽造親川普的選舉人團名單的陰謀。

文／Abbie VanSickle　譯／羅方妤

說文解字看新聞

【張佑生】

美國憲法第14增修條文第1款規定，不需高深的英文程度都能理解。之前提過，各國憲法的Amendment是增修條文，若譯為坊間常見的修正案，有停留在法案階段，尚未成為法律（憲法）意涵，合先敘明。家喻戶曉的First Amendment正解為美國憲法第一增修條文或者增修條文第一條。

白紙黑字的憲法條文，川普妄想用行政命令(executive order)推翻，將行政命令當作詔令(royal decree)。給總統方便不是讓他隨便，對憲法有意見可以修憲，一紙命令就要廢除birthright citizenship。不妙的是，最高法院居然同意聽取口頭辯論(oral argument)，大法官忘了自己職司釋憲而非制憲，一味配合上意，美國並非個案。

下級審法院的英文是lower courts，這是相對於最高法院(Supreme Court)的概念。在台灣，初審是地方法院(District Court)，二審是高等法院(High Court)。在美國，聯邦法院系統分為三個審級：初審法院相當於台灣的地院、二審是上訴法院(Appellate Court/Courts of Appeals)，以及最高法院。法院前面加上U.S.代表是聯邦層級，各州有自己的三級三審制。