Of the many powers and responsibilities that the Constitution vests in the presidency, few are more consequential than appointing a Supreme Court justice -- particularly one to succeed Justice Scalia, one of the most influential jurists of our time. 在宪法赋予总统的众多权力和职责中，几乎没有哪一项比任命最高法院大法官更为重大——尤其是接替斯卡利亚大法官的席位，他是我们这个时代最具影响力的法学家之一。
The men and women who sit on the Supreme Court are the final arbiters of American law. They safeguard our rights. They ensure that our system is one of laws and not men. They're charged with the essential task of applying principles put to paper more than two centuries ago to some of the most challenging questions of our time. 最高法院的大法官们是美国法律的最终仲裁者。他们捍卫我们的权利。他们确保我们的制度是法治而非人治。他们肩负着一项至关重要的使命：将两个多世纪前载入史册的原则，应用于我们时代一些最具挑战性的问题。
So this is not a responsibility that I take lightly. It's a decision that requires me to set aside short-term expediency and narrow politics, so as to maintain faith with our founders and, perhaps more importantly, with future generations. 因此，我绝不会轻率对待这一职责。这一决定要求我摒弃短期权宜之计和狭隘的党派政治，以信守对我们开国元勋的承诺——或许更重要的是，对子孙后代的承诺。
That's why, over the past several weeks, I've done my best to set up a rigorous and comprehensive process. I've sought the advice of Republican and Democratic members of Congress. We've reached out to every member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, to constitutional scholars, to advocacy groups, to bar associations, representing an array of interests and opinions from all across the spectrum. 正因为如此，在过去几周里，我尽最大努力建立了一套严谨而全面的遴选程序。我征询了国会共和党和民主党议员的意见。我们联系了参议院司法委员会的每一位委员、宪法学者、权益倡导团体和律师协会，他们代表了各个领域广泛的利益和观点。
And today, after completing this exhaustive process, I've made my decision. I've selected a nominee who is widely recognized not only as one of America's sharpest legal minds, but someone who brings to his work a spirit of decency, modesty, integrity, even-handedness, and excellence. 今天，在完成这一详尽的程序之后，我做出了决定。我选定的这位被提名人，不仅被公认为美国最敏锐的法律头脑之一，更以其工作中展现出的正派、谦逊、正直、公允和卓越精神而著称。
These qualities, and his long commitment to public service, have earned him the respect and admiration of leaders from both sides of the aisle. He will ultimately bring that same character to bear on the Supreme Court, an institution in which he is uniquely prepared to serve immediately. 这些品质，以及他对公共服务的长期奉献，为他赢得了两党领导人的尊敬与钦佩。他终将把同样的品格带入最高法院——对于这一机构，他已做好独一无二的准备，可以即刻履任。
Today, I am nominating Chief Judge Merrick Brian Garland to join the Supreme Court. 今天，我提名梅里克·布赖恩·加兰德首席法官出任联邦最高法院大法官。
Now, in law enforcement circles, and in the legal community at large, Judge Garland needs no introduction. But I'd like to take a minute to introduce Merrick to the American people, whom he already so ably serves. 如今，在执法界乃至整个法律界，加兰德法官都无需赘述。但我想花一点时间，向美国人民介绍梅里克——他早已在竭诚为他们服务。
He was born and raised in the Land of Lincoln -- in my hometown of Chicago, in my home state of Illinois. His mother volunteered in the community; his father ran a small business out of their home. Inheriting that work ethic, Merrick became valedictorian of his public high school. 他在"林肯之地"出生长大——就在我的家乡芝加哥，在我的故乡伊利诺伊州。他的母亲在社区做志愿者；父亲在家经营一家小企业。继承了这种职业道德的梅里克，以优异成绩成为公立高中的毕业生代表。
He earned a scholarship to Harvard, where he graduated summa cum laude. And he put himself through Harvard Law School by working as a tutor, by stocking shoes in a shoe store, and, in what is always a painful moment for any young man, by selling his comic book collection. It's tough. Been there. 他获得了哈佛大学的奖学金，并以最高荣誉毕业。他靠做家教、在鞋店摆鞋，以及——这对任何年轻人来说都是痛苦的时刻——卖掉自己的漫画收藏，才读完了哈佛法学院。那滋味不好受。我深有体会。
Merrick graduated magna cum laude from Harvard Law, and the early years of his legal career bear all the traditional marks of excellence. He clerked for two of President Eisenhower's judicial appointees -- first for a legendary judge on the Second Circuit, Judge Henry Friendly, and then for Supreme Court Justice William Brennan. 梅里克以优异成绩从哈佛法学院毕业，其法律职业生涯的早期处处彰显着卓越的传统印记。他曾为艾森豪威尔总统任命的两位法官担任书记员——先是在第二巡回法院为传奇法官亨利·弗兰德利工作，随后为最高法院大法官威廉·布伦南工作。
Following his clerkships, Merrick joined a highly regarded law firm, with a practice focused on litigation and pro bono representation of disadvantaged Americans. Within four years, he earned a partnership -- the dream of most lawyers. But in 1989, just months after that achievement, Merrick made a highly unusual career decision. He walked away from a comfortable and lucrative law practice to return to public service. 书记员任期结束后，梅里克加入了一家备受推崇的律师事务所，专注于诉讼业务，并为弱势美国民众提供公益法律服务。不到四年，他就晋升为合伙人——这是大多数律师的梦想。但在1989年，也就是取得这一成就仅仅几个月后，梅里克做出了一个极不寻常的职业决定。他放弃了舒适优渥的律师执业，重返公共服务领域。
Merrick accepted a low-level job as a federal prosecutor in President George H.W. Bush's administration. He took a 50-percent pay cut, traded in his elegant partner's office for a windowless closet that smelled of stale cigarette smoke. This was a time when crime here in Washington had reached epidemic proportions, and he wanted to help. And he quickly made a name for himself, going after corrupt politicians and violent criminals. 梅里克在乔治·H·W·布什政府中接受了一份基层联邦检察官的工作。他的薪水减少了一半，从宽敞气派的合伙人办公室，搬进了一间没有窗户、弥漫着陈旧烟味的斗室。当时华盛顿的犯罪率居高不下，几近泛滥，他想出一份力。很快，他便因查办腐败政客和暴力罪犯而声名鹊起。
His sterling record as a prosecutor led him to the Justice Department, where he oversaw some of the most significant prosecutions in the 1990s -- including overseeing every aspect of the federal response to the Oklahoma City bombing. In the aftermath of that act of terror, when 168 people, many of them small children, were murdered, Merrick had one evening to say goodbye to his own young daughters before he boarded a plane to Oklahoma City. 他作为检察官的出色表现将他带到了司法部，在那里他主导了九十年代一些最重大的公诉工作——包括全面负责联邦政府对俄克拉荷马城爆炸案的应对。在那次恐怖袭击之后，168人惨遭杀害，其中许多是年幼的儿童。梅里克只有一个晚上的时间与自己年幼的女儿们告别，随后便登上了飞往俄克拉荷马城的飞机。
And he would remain there for weeks. He worked side-by-side with first responders, rescue workers, local and federal law enforcement. He led the investigation and supervised the prosecution that brought Timothy McVeigh to justice. 他在那里一待就是数周。他与首批响应人员、救援工作者以及地方和联邦执法人员并肩作战。他领导调查工作并监督公诉，最终将蒂莫西·麦克维绳之以法。
But perhaps most important is the way he did it. Throughout the process, Merrick took pains to do everything by the book. When people offered to turn over evidence voluntarily, he refused, taking the harder route of obtaining the proper subpoenas instead, because Merrick would take no chances that someone who murdered innocent Americans might go free on a technicality. 但或许最重要的是他行事的方式。在整个过程中，梅里克费尽心思确保一切都依规而行。当有人主动提出交出证据时，他婉言谢绝，反而选择了更艰难的途径——通过正当程序获取传票，因为梅里克绝不允许任何杀害无辜美国人的凶手因法律细节问题而逍遥法外。
Merrick also made a concerted effort to reach out to the victims and their families, updating them frequently on the case's progress. Everywhere he went, he carried with him in his briefcase the program from the memorial service with each of the victims' names inside -- a constant, searing reminder of why he had to succeed. 梅里克还主动与受害者及其家属保持联系，定期向他们通报案件进展。无论走到哪里，他的公文包里都装着追思仪式的程序单，里面列着每一位受害者的名字——这份灼人的纪念时刻提醒着他，为什么必须成功。
Judge Garland has often referred to his work on the Oklahoma City case as, and I quote, "the most important thing I have ever done in my life." And through it all, he never lost touch with that community that he served. 加兰德法官常将他在俄克拉荷马城案件中的工作称为——我引用他的原话——"我一生中做过的最重要的事"。经历这一切之后，他始终与他服务过的那个社区保持着联系。
It's no surprise then, that soon after his work in Oklahoma City, Merrick was nominated to what's often called the second highest court in the land -- the D.C. Circuit Court. During that confirmation process, he earned overwhelming bipartisan praise from senators and legal experts alike. Republican Senator Orrin Hatch, who was then chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, supported his nomination. 因此毫不意外，在俄克拉荷马城的工作结束后不久，梅里克就被提名到常被称为全国第二高等法院的哥伦比亚特区巡回上诉法院任职。在那次确认程序中，他赢得了参议员和法律专家们两党一致的压倒性赞誉。当时担任参议院司法委员会主席的共和党参议员奥林·哈奇也支持对他的提名。
Back then, he said, "In all honesty, I would like to see one person come to this floor and say one reason why Merrick Garland does not deserve this position." He actually accused fellow Senate Republicans trying to obstruct Merrick's confirmation of "playing politics with judges." 他当时说："老实说，我倒想看看有谁能站到这个议席上，说出一条梅里克·加兰德不配这个职位的理由。"他甚至指责那些试图阻挠梅里克任命的参议院共和党同僚"在法官任命问题上玩弄政治"。
And he has since said that Judge Garland would be a "consensus nominee" for the Supreme Court who "would be very well supported by all sides," and there would be "no question" Merrick would be confirmed with bipartisan support. 此后他还表示，加兰德法官将是最高法院的一位"共识型被提名人"，"会得到各方的大力支持"，而且梅里克"毫无疑问"将在两党支持下获得确认。
Ultimately, Merrick was confirmed to the D.C. Circuit, the second highest court in the land, with votes from a majority of Democrats and a majority of Republicans. Three years ago, he was elevated to Chief Judge. And in his 19 years on the D.C. Circuit, Judge Garland has brought his trademark diligence, compassion, and unwavering regard for the rule of law to his work. 最终，梅里克以民主党多数和共和党多数的共同支持，获得了哥伦比亚特区巡回法院——全国第二高等法院——的任命。三年前，他升任首席法官。在哥伦比亚特区巡回法院任职的十九年间，加兰德法官将其一贯的勤勉、悲悯以及对法治的坚定信仰融入工作之中。
On a circuit court known for strong-minded judges on both ends of the spectrum, Judge Garland has earned a track record of building consensus as a thoughtful, fair-minded judge who follows the law. He's shown a rare ability to bring together odd couples, assemble unlikely coalitions, persuade colleagues with wide-ranging judicial philosophies to sign on to his opinions. 在这所以立场鲜明、观点多元著称的巡回法院，加兰德法官以其深思熟虑、公正不阿、严守法律的判案风格，树立了建立共识的良好记录。他展现出一种罕见的能力：能够弥合分歧、促成意想不到的联合，说服司法理念迥异的同僚认同他的意见。
And this record on the bench speaks, I believe, to Judge Garland's fundamental temperament -- his insistence that all views deserve a respectful hearing. His habit, to borrow a phrase from former Justice John Paul Stevens, "of understanding before disagreeing," and then disagreeing without being disagreeable. 我相信，法官席上的这份记录，正体现了加兰德法官的根本品性——他坚信所有观点都应得到尊重的倾听。借用前大法官约翰·保罗·史蒂文斯的话来说，他习惯于"先理解，后异议"，即使持有异议，也不失和气。
It speaks to his ability to persuade, to respond to the concerns of others with sound arguments and airtight logic. As his former colleague on the D.C. Circuit, and our current Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, John Roberts, once said, "Any time Judge Garland disagrees, you know you're in a difficult area." 这体现了他的说服力——以扎实的论据和严密的逻辑回应他人的关切。正如他在哥伦比亚特区巡回法院的前同事、现任最高法院首席大法官约翰·罗伯茨所言："每当加兰德法官持不同意见时，你就知道这是一个棘手的领域。"
At the same time, Chief Judge Garland is more than just a brilliant legal mind. He's someone who has a keen understanding that justice is about more than abstract legal theory; more than some footnote in a dusty casebook. His life experience -- his experience in places like Oklahoma City -- informs his view that the law is more than an intellectual exercise. 与此同时，加兰德首席法官不只是一位才华横溢的法律人。他深刻地理解，正义远不止抽象的法律理论，也远不止尘封案例教科书中的某个脚注。他的人生经历——他在俄克拉荷马城等地的经历——让他深知，法律不仅仅是一场智力游戏。
He understands the way law affects the daily reality of people's lives in a big, complicated democracy, and in rapidly-changing times. And throughout his jurisprudence runs a common thread -- a dedication to protecting the basic rights of every American; a conviction that in a democracy, powerful voices must not be allowed to drown out the voices of everyday Americans. 他明白，在一个庞大而复杂的民主国家中，在飞速变化的时代里，法律如何影响着人们的日常生活。贯穿他全部司法理念的是一条共同的主线——致力于保护每一位美国人的基本权利；坚信在民主制度中，绝不能让强权的声音淹没普通美国人的声音。
To find someone with such a long career of public service, marked by complex and sensitive issues; to find someone who just about everyone not only respects, but genuinely likes -- that is rare. And it speaks to who Merrick Garland is -- not just as a lawyer, but as a man. 能找到一位拥有如此漫长公共服务生涯、经手过诸多复杂敏感议题的人；能找到一位几乎所有人不仅尊敬、而且由衷喜爱的人——实属难得。这正体现了梅里克·加兰德的为人——不仅是作为律师，更是作为一个人。
People respect the way he treats others -- his genuine courtesy and respect for his colleagues and those who come before his court. They admire his civic-mindedness -- mentoring his clerks throughout their careers, urging them to use their legal training to serve their communities, setting his own example by tutoring a young student at a Northeast D.C. elementary school each year for the past 18 years. 人们敬重他待人的方式——对同事和出庭者始终抱以真诚的礼遇与尊重。人们钦佩他的公民精神——他一路指导书记员的职业发展，勉励他们运用所学法律知识服务社区；过去十八年来，他每年都在华盛顿特区东北部的一所小学辅导学生，以身作则。
They're moved by his deep devotion to his family -- Lynn, his wife of nearly 30 years, and their two daughters, Becky and Jessie. As a family, they indulge their love of hiking and skiing and canoeing, and their love of America by visiting our national parks. 人们为他对家庭的深厚情感所动容——他与妻子琳恩相濡以沫近三十年，育有两个女儿贝基和杰西。一家人热爱徒步、滑雪和划独木舟，也热爱美国，常常游览我们的国家公园。
People respect Merrick's deep and abiding passion for protecting our most basic constitutional rights. It's a passion, I'm told, that manifested itself at an early age. And one story is indicative of this, is notable. 人们敬重梅里克对保护我们最基本宪法权利的深沉而持久的热忱。我听说，这份热忱在他年少时就已显露。有一个故事颇能说明这一点，令人印象深刻。
As valedictorian of his high school class, he had to deliver a commencement address. The other student speaker that day spoke first and unleashed a fiery critique of the Vietnam War. Fearing the controversy that might result, several parents decided to unplug the sound system, and the rest of the student's speech was muffled. 作为高中毕业班的学生代表，他需要在毕业典礼上致辞。那天另一位学生发言人先上台，发表了一番对越南战争的激烈批评。几位家长担心可能引发争议，决定拔掉音响系统的电源，那位学生演讲的后半部分便听不见了。
And Merrick didn't necessarily agree with the tone of his classmate's remarks, nor his choice of topic for that day. But stirred by the sight of a fellow student's voice being silenced, he tossed aside his prepared remarks and delivered instead, on the spot, a passionate, impromptu defense of our First Amendment rights. 梅里克未必赞同那位同学讲话的语气，也未必赞成他那天选择的话题。但目睹一位同学的声音被压制，他深受触动，抛开了事先准备的讲稿，当场发表了一番充满激情的即席演讲，捍卫我们的第一修正案权利。
It was the beginning of a lifelong career -- as a lawyer, and a prosecutor, and as a judge -- devoted to protecting the rights of others. And he has done that work with decency and humanity and common sense, and a common touch. And I'm proud that he'll continue that work on our nation's highest court. 这便是他毕生事业的开端——作为律师、检察官和法官——致力于保护他人的权利。他以正派、人道、明辨事理和平易近人的方式践行着这份事业。我为他将在我们国家的最高法院继续这份事业而感到自豪。
I said I would take this process seriously -- and I did. I chose a serious man and an exemplary judge, Merrick Garland. Over my seven years as President, in all my conversations with senators from both parties in which I asked their views on qualified Supreme Court nominees -- this includes the previous two seats that I had to fill -- the one name that has come up repeatedly, from Republicans and Democrats alike, is Merrick Garland. 我说过我会认真对待这一程序——我也确实这样做了。我选择了一位持重的人，一位杰出的法官——梅里克·加兰德。在我担任总统的七年间，每当我与两党参议员交谈，征询他们对合格最高法院大法官人选的意见时——包括我此前必须填补的两个席位——有一个名字反复出现，无论共和党人还是民主党人都不约而同地提起，那就是梅里克·加兰德。
Now, I recognize that we have entered the political season -- or perhaps, these days it never ends -- a political season that is even noisier and more volatile than usual. I know that Republicans will point to Democrats who've made it hard for Republican Presidents to get their nominees confirmed. And they're not wrong about that. There's been politics involved in nominations in the past. Although it should be pointed out that, in each of those instances, Democrats ultimately confirmed a nominee put forward by a Republican President. 我知道，我们已经进入了政治季——或许如今政治季从未结束——而这个政治季比往常更加喧嚣和动荡。我知道共和党人会指出，民主党人也曾让共和党总统的大法官提名难以获得确认。他们说的并非没有道理。过去的大法官提名确实掺杂着政治因素。但应当指出的是，在每一次这样的情形中，民主党人最终都确认了共和党总统提出的提名。
I also know that because of Justice Scalia's outsized role on the Court and in American law, and the fact that Americans are closely divided on a number of issues before the Court, it is tempting to make this confirmation process simply an extension of our divided politics -- the squabbling that's going on in the news every day. But to go down that path would be wrong. It would be a betrayal of our best traditions, and a betrayal of the vision of our founding documents. 我也知道，由于斯卡利亚大法官在最高法院和美国法律界举足轻重的地位，加之美国人在最高法院审理的诸多议题上分歧严重，人们很容易将这一确认程序变成我们分裂政治的延伸——就像每天新闻里上演的争吵那样。但走上那条路将是错误的。那将是对我们最优良传统的背叛，也是对我们建国文献精神的背叛。
At a time when our politics are so polarized, at a time when norms and customs of political rhetoric and courtesy and comity are so often treated like they're disposable -- this is precisely the time when we should play it straight, and treat the process of appointing a Supreme Court justice with the seriousness and care it deserves. Because our Supreme Court really is unique. It's supposed to be above politics. It has to be. And it should stay that way. 在我们的政治如此两极分化的时刻，在政治言论中的礼仪、谦让与和睦等规范惯例常常被视若敝屣的时刻——恰恰在这样的时刻，我们应当秉公行事，以应有的严肃和审慎对待最高法院大法官的任命程序。因为我们的最高法院确实是独一无二的。它应当超越政治。它必须超越政治。它也应当始终如此。
To suggest that someone as qualified and respected as Merrick Garland doesn't even deserve a hearing, let alone an up or down vote, to join an institution as important as our Supreme Court, when two-thirds of Americans believe otherwise -- that would be unprecedented. 像梅里克·加兰德这样资历深厚、备受尊敬的人，连获得听证的资格都不被给予，更不用说进行投票表决了——而三分之二的美国人都认为应当举行听证——这将是史无前例的。
To suggest that someone who has served his country with honor and dignity, with a distinguished track record of delivering justice for the American people, might be treated, as one Republican leader stated, as a political "piñata" -- that can't be right. 有人说，一位以荣誉和尊严报效国家、在为美国人民伸张正义方面功勋卓著的人，可能会像一位共和党领导人所说的那样，被当作政治"皮纳塔"来打击——这是不对的。
Tomorrow, Judge Garland will travel to the Hill to begin meeting with senators, one-on-one. I simply ask Republicans in the Senate to give him a fair hearing, and then an up or down vote. If you don't, then it will not only be an abdication of the Senate's constitutional duty, it will indicate a process for nominating and confirming judges that is beyond repair. 明天，加兰德法官将前往国会山，开始与参议员们进行一对一会面。我只请求参议院的共和党议员给他一次公正的听证，然后进行一次赞成或反对的表决。如果你们不这样做，那不仅是参议院在放弃其宪法职责，更意味着法官提名和确认的程序已经病入膏肓。
It will mean everything is subject to the most partisan of politics -- everything. It will provoke an endless cycle of more tit-for-tat, and make it increasingly impossible for any President, Democrat or Republican, to carry out their constitutional function. The reputation of the Supreme Court will inevitably suffer. Faith in our justice system will inevitably suffer. Our democracy will ultimately suffer, as well. 那将意味着一切都要服从于最极端的党派政治——一切。它将引发一轮又一轮永无止境的以牙还牙，让任何一位总统，无论是民主党还是共和党，都越来越难以履行其宪法职能。最高法院的声誉将不可避免地受损。公众对我们司法体系的信心将不可避免地受挫。我们的民主最终也将深受其害。
I have fulfilled my constitutional duty. Now it's time for the Senate to do theirs. Presidents do not stop working in the final year of their term. Neither should a senator. 我已经履行了我的宪法职责。现在轮到参议院履行他们的职责了。总统不会在任期的最后一年停止工作。参议员也不应如此。
I know that tomorrow the Senate will take a break and leave town on recess for two weeks. My earnest hope is that senators take that time to reflect on the importance of this process to our democracy -- not what's expedient, not what's happening at the moment, what does this mean for our institutions, for our common life -- the stakes, the consequences, the seriousness of the job we all swore an oath to do. 我知道参议院明天将休会，议员们将离城两周。我真诚地希望，参议员们能利用这段时间，深思这一程序对我们民主制度的重要性——不要考虑什么是权宜之计，不要关注眼下的风云变幻，而要思考这对我们的制度、对我们的共同生活意味着什么——其中的利害、后果，以及我们所有人宣誓就职时所承诺的那份庄严。
And when they return, I hope that they'll act in a bipartisan fashion. I hope they're fair. That's all. I hope they are fair. As they did when they confirmed Merrick Garland to the D.C. Circuit, I ask that they confirm Merrick Garland now to the Supreme Court, so that he can take his seat in time to fully participate in its work for the American people this fall. 等他们回来时，我希望他们能以两党合作的方式行事。我希望他们能秉持公正。仅此而已。我希望他们能公正行事。正如当年他们确认梅里克·加兰德出任哥伦比亚特区巡回法院法官那样，我请求他们现在确认梅里克·加兰德出任最高法院大法官，以便他能在今年秋天及时就职，全面参与法院为美国人民服务的工作。
He is the right man for the job. He deserves to be confirmed. I could not be prouder of the work that he has already done on behalf of the American people. He deserves our thanks and he deserves a fair hearing. 他是这个职位的合适人选。他理应获得确认。我为他已经为美国人民所做的工作感到无比自豪。他值得我们的感谢，也理应获得一次公正的听证。
And with that, I'd like to invite Judge Garland to say a few words. 接下来，我想请加兰德法官讲几句话。
Judge Garland: Thank you, Mr. President. This is the greatest honor of my life -- other than Lynn agreeing to marry me 28 years ago. It's also the greatest gift I've ever received except -- and there's another caveat -- the birth of our daughters, Jessie and Becky. 加兰德法官：谢谢您，总统先生。这是我一生中最崇高的荣誉——除了二十八年前琳恩答应嫁给我之外。这也是我收到过的最珍贵的礼物——不过还有一个例外——那就是我们的女儿杰西和贝基的诞生。
As my parents taught me by both words and deeds, a life of public service is as much a gift to the person who serves as it is to those he is serving. And for me, there could be no higher public service than serving as a member of the United States Supreme Court. 正如我父母言传身教的那样，公共服务的人生对于服务者而言，与被服务者同样是一种馈赠。对我来说，没有什么公共服务比出任美国联邦最高法院大法官更崇高的了。
My family deserves much of the credit for the path that led me here. My grandparents left the Pale of Settlement at the border of Western Russia and Eastern Europe in the early 1900s, fleeing anti-Semitism, and hoping to make a better life for their children in America. They settled in the Midwest, eventually making their way to Chicago. 我能走到今天，很大程度上要归功于我的家庭。我的祖父母于二十世纪初离开西俄罗斯与东欧边境的"栅栏区"，逃离反犹太主义，希望在美国为他们的孩子创造更好的生活。他们在中西部定居，最终辗转来到芝加哥。
There, my father, who ran the smallest of small businesses from a room in our basement, took me with him as he made the rounds to his customers, always impressing upon me the importance of hard work and fair dealing. There, my mother headed the local PTA and school board and directed a volunteer services agency, all the while instilling in my sister and me the understanding that service to the community is a responsibility above all others. Even now, my sisters honor that example by serving the children of their communities. 在那里，我的父亲在地下室的一个房间里经营着一家再小不过的生意，他带我挨家挨户拜访客户，始终向我灌输勤奋工作和公平交易的重要性。在那里，我的母亲担任当地家长教师协会和学校董事会的负责人，并领导一家志愿服务机构，同时不断向我和妹妹灌输这样的理念：服务社区是高于一切的责任。即便到了今天，我的姐妹们也在以服务社区儿童的方式，践行着这一榜样。
I know that my mother is watching this on television and crying her eyes out. So are my sisters, who have supported me in every step I have ever taken. I only wish that my father were here to see this today. I also wish that we hadn't taught my older daughter to be so adventurous that she would be hiking in the mountains, out of cell service range -- when the President called. 我知道我的母亲正在电视前观看这一幕，泪流满面。我的姐妹们也是如此，她们在我人生的每一步都给予支持。我只希望父亲今天能在这里看到这一切。我还希望，我们没有把大女儿教得那么爱冒险，以至于总统打电话来的时候，她正在山里徒步，手机没有信号。
It was the sense of responsibility to serve a community, instilled by my parents, that led me to leave my law firm to become a line prosecutor in 1989. There, one of my first assignments was to assist in the prosecution of a violent gang that had come down to the District from New York, took over a public housing project and terrorized the residents. 正是父母灌输给我的服务社区的责任感，促使我在1989年离开律师事务所，成为一名一线检察官。在那里，我的首批任务之一就是协助起诉一个暴力团伙——他们从纽约来到特区，占据了一个公共住房项目，恐吓当地居民。
The hardest job we faced was persuading mothers and grandmothers that if they testified, we would be able to keep them safe and convict the gang members. We succeeded only by convincing witnesses and victims that they could trust that the rule of law would prevail. 我们面临的最艰巨的任务，是说服那些母亲和祖母们：如果她们出庭作证，我们就能保护她们的安全，并将团伙成员定罪。我们之所以能够成功，全凭让证人和受害者相信，法治终将获胜。
Years later, when I went to Oklahoma City to investigate the bombing of the Federal Building, I saw up close the devastation that can happen when someone abandons the justice system as a way of resolving grievances, and instead takes matters into his own hands. Once again, I saw the importance of assuring victims and families that the justice system could work. 多年后，当我前往俄克拉荷马城调查联邦大楼爆炸案时，我亲眼目睹了当一个人放弃以司法系统解决不满、反而诉诸私刑时可能造成的毁灭。我再一次认识到，让受害者及其家属相信司法系统能够发挥作用是多么重要。
We promised that we would find the perpetrators, that we would bring them to justice, and that we would do it in a way that honored the Constitution. The people of Oklahoma City gave us their trust, and we did everything we could to live up to it. 我们承诺一定会找到肇事者，将他们绳之以法，并且一定会以尊重宪法的方式行事。俄克拉荷马城的人民给予了我们信任，我们也竭尽所能不辜负这份信任。
Trust that justice will be done in our courts without prejudice or partisanship is what, in a large part, distinguishes this country from others. People must be confident that a judge's decisions are determined by the law, and only the law. For a judge to be worthy of such trust, he or she must be faithful to the Constitution and to the statutes passed by the Congress. He or she must put aside his personal views or preferences, and follow the law -- not make it. 相信我们的法院将不带偏见、不涉党派地实现正义，这在很大程度上正是这个国家有别于其他国家的地方。人们必须确信，法官的裁决只由法律决定，也只能由法律决定。一名法官要配得上这样的信任，就必须忠于宪法和国会通过的法律，必须放下个人观点或偏好，恪守法律——而非创制法律。
Fidelity to the Constitution and the law has been the cornerstone of my professional life, and it's the hallmark of the kind of judge I have tried to be for the past 18 years. If the Senate sees fit to confirm me to the position for which I have been nominated today, I promise to continue on that course. 忠于宪法和法律是我职业生涯的基石，也是过去十八年来我努力成为的那种法官的标志。如果参议院认为应当确认我今天所获提名的职位，我承诺将继续沿着这条道路走下去。
Mr. President, it's a great privilege to be nominated by a fellow Chicagoan. I am grateful beyond words for the honor you have bestowed upon me. 总统先生，能被一位芝加哥同乡提名，我深感荣幸。对于您授予我的这份荣誉，我的感激之情无以言表。