2016年7月22日

批特朗普是騙子的女法官


上星期有一宗美國選舉新聞,在香港未得到傳媒關注 (很多甚至沒報道),但在當地引發相當大爭議,就是最高法院女法官 Ruth Bader Ginsburg (RBG) 在接受傳媒訪問時批評特朗普是騙子 (faker),隨口噏 (says whatever comes into his head),還說他當選的話要移民。特朗普立即反駁 RBG 政治不中立應該辭職,亦有人樂見特朗普被批評,如白宮發言人 Josh Earnest 就笑說「她可是被網民稱為聲名狼籍的RBG」(she didn't earn the nickname "The Notorious RBG" for nothing)。

到底這位已經83歲、老態龍鍾的美國史上第二位最高法院女法官有何「聲名狼籍」(Notorious) 呢?

RBG 1933年生於紐約,猶太人,自康奈爾大學政治系學士畢業後,像一般的女性結婚和生下小孩。但她後來再考入哈佛大學法學院,當時500多個法律系學生中只有9人是女性。(注:美國的大學法律系一般是 second degree,要學士畢業後才可修讀)

"My mother told me two things constantly. One was to be a lady, and the other was to be independent. The study of law was unusual for women of my generation. For most girls growing up in the '40s, the most important degree was not your BA, but your MRS."

她其後因丈夫工作需要而搬遷,轉校至哥倫比亞大學,最終以全級第一名畢業。但即使考到名校第一,又得到法學院院長等強力的推薦信,仍然在求職時屢次碰壁。這當然跟當年社會仍然不歡迎女性工作有關,她還是已經有孩子的。

"I use the example of the symphony orchestra. When I was growing up, I never saw a woman in a symphony orchestra, except perhaps playing the harp. The people conducting auditions and the music critics said they could tell the difference between a man and a woman performing. Someone had the brilliant idea of testing that notion by putting the people who were auditioning behind a curtain, so the testers couldn’t see if the musician was a man or a woman. With that simple device, symphony orchestras began to include women."

RBG 之後在哥倫比亞法學院教書,成為該校法律系首位終身 (tenure) 女教授。她又協助女權組織多次打贏涉及男女不平等的官司,打出名堂。她在1980年獲委任為高等法院法官,1993年獲委任為最高法院法官,是美國史上第二位最高法院女法官,有一段時間也是唯一在職女法官。

"You think about what would have happened ... Suppose I had gotten a job as a permanent associate. Probably I would have climbed up the ladder and today I would be a retired partner. So often in life, things that you regard as an impediment turn out to be great good fortune."


至於 The Notorious RBG 這個別名,是抄襲自黑人繞舌歌手 The Notorious B.I.G.,源於 2013 年一宗官司中,RBG 提出的異議 (dissent) 的一些內容得到網民瘋傳,之後人們發掘一些她寫過的判辭、異議和訪問等,發現她有很多非常左翼和自由主義 (liberal) 的金句,令她突然成為年輕網民偶像,有人更推出她的 T-shirt 和杯子等週邊商品。在去年一個民調中,她當選最多美國人喜歡的最高法院法官。也所以這次她批評特朗普,連白宮發言人都拿來開玩笑。

以下為一些網民為她製的圖:







還有前幾年最高法院宣判,限制選舉經費和捐獻上限是違憲,RBG 當時是投反對的,認為這會令選舉受金錢操控:


RBG 本人似乎覺得這現象很有趣,她笑說她的孫兒很喜歡這些東西,還說自己也有一些自己的週邊  T-shirt。

講回今次她批評特朗普。她事後也承認言論不恰當 (inappropriate),令事件算是平息下來 (但未有正式道歉)。

那法官到底需不需要中立呢?理論上是要中立的,始終法官將來有機會接到各種案件,如果一早就表明立場,會被人批評是有不公正。但實際上,美國最高法院法官經常都有明顯政治傾向,會被傳媒歸類為偏自由派和偏保守派,RBG在獲委任前也已經是知明的人權律師。

這跟美國最高法院法官是由總統提名、參議院通過有關。這令任命過程可以相當政治化,兩黨都希望任命對立場偏向己方的法官。同時,最高法院法官沒有退休年齡,何時退休完全看法官個人決定,獲任命後一直做到死為止的大有人在 (今年才剛死了一位),令兩黨更著緊選擇對口味的法官。

以前的任命更政治化,像美國立國後第一位首席法官 John Jay,之前是總統華盛頓的直屬屬下,是外交部長 (現稱國務卿),退休後又競選並成功當選紐約州州長。第十任首席法官 William Howard Taft 更是前總統。

事實上最高法院法官評論時事雖然少有,但並非沒有。有些法官是很愛出書和接受訪問的,RBG 並不算過度的多。不過今次指名道姓批評一個政客,還要是在選舉期間,就真的是比較不恰當了。當然亦有支持者認為不應因為她是法官就不讓她發言:

"Imagine that you are a person with great influence, highly respected and with a powerful voice that commands enormous attention. Imagine that you see the country heading down a potentially destructive and very dangerous path. Do you sit quietly and, if the worst happens, always regret your silence, or do you speak out even if doing so will subject you to criticism?"

http://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-chemerinsky-ginsburg-trump-comments-20160718-snap-story.html


有政治立場亦不一定影響他們工作。RBG 是自由派法官,卻跟保守派法官 Antonin Scalia (今年較早前去世) 私交甚好。二人經常被視為分別是最自由派和最保守派的法官。她解釋說,一來她喜歡他的為人風趣幽默,二來要令判決對己方有利,就需要將其他法官拉入己方,所以跟其他法官交惡並沒有好處。

而且,其實最高法院大部分案件都是一致或大比數通過的,只有少數是會令法官按自由派和保守派的分野投票,還有些投票結果是跟兩派分野完全不同。

RBG 獲選為時代雜誌人物時,Antonin Scalia 亦有份撰文讚揚她:

"Having had the good fortune to serve beside her on both courts, I can attest that her opinions are always thoroughly considered, always carefully crafted and almost always correct (which is to say we sometimes disagree). That much is apparent for all to see. What only her colleagues know is that her suggestions improve the opinions the rest of us write, and that she is a source of collegiality and good judgment in all our work."

被人問到她怎麼評價自己,她就說:

"Someone who used whatever talent she had to do her work to the very best of her ability. And to help repair tears in her society, to make things a little better through the use of whatever ability she has."

83歲的 RBG 是目前在職最高法院法官中最年長的,很多人都問她會不會退休,她就引用另一位前法官為例說:

"But John Paul Stevens didn't step down until he was 90."


沒有留言:

張貼留言