Thank you very much. Everybody, please have a seat. 非常感谢大家。各位，请坐。
Good morning, everybody. Of the many responsibilities accorded to a President by our Constitution, few are more weighty or consequential than that of appointing a Supreme Court justice — particularly one to succeed a giant in the law like Justice John Paul Stevens. 大家早上好。在我们的宪法赋予总统的众多职责中，很少有哪一项比任命最高法院大法官更为重大或具有深远影响——尤其是接替像约翰·保罗·史蒂文斯大法官这样一位法学巨擘。
For nearly 35 years, Justice Stevens has stood as an impartial guardian of the law, faithfully applying the core values of our founding to the cases and controversies of our time. 近35年来，史蒂文斯大法官一直是法律的公正守护者，忠实地将我们建国时的核心价值观运用于当代的案例与争议之中。
He has done so with restraint and respect for precedent — understanding that a judge’s job is to interpret, not make law — but also with fidelity to the constitutional ideal of equal justice for all. He’s brought to each case not just mastery of the letter of the law, but a keen understanding of its impact on people’s lives. And he has emerged as a consistent voice of reason, helping his colleagues find common ground on some of the most controversial and contentious issues the Court has ever faced. 他以此种方式行事，既克制又尊重先例——他明白法官的职责是解释法律而非制定法律——同时也忠于法律面前人人平等这一宪法理想。他在每一个案件中不仅展现了对法律条文的精通，更对法律如何影响人们的生活有着敏锐的理解。他已成为一位始终如一的理性之声，帮助同僚们在最高法院所面临的一些最具争议和分歧的问题上寻求共识。
While we can’t presume to replace Justice Stevens’ wisdom or experience, I have selected a nominee who I believe embodies that same excellence, independence, integrity, and passion for the law — and who can ultimately provide that same kind of leadership on the Court: our Solicitor General, and my friend, Elena Kagan. 虽然我们无法妄图取代史蒂文斯大法官的智慧与经验，但我已选定了一位被提名人，我相信她体现了同样的卓越、独立、正直和对法律的热爱——并最终能够在大法官职位上提供同样的领导力：她就是我们的总检察长，也是我的朋友，埃琳娜·卡根。
Elena is widely regarded as one of the nation’s foremost legal minds. She’s an acclaimed legal scholar with a rich understanding of constitutional law. She is a former White House aide with a lifelong commitment to public service and a firm grasp of the nexus and boundaries between our three branches of government. 埃琳娜被广泛认为是我国最杰出的法律思想家之一。她是一位享有盛誉的法学者，对宪法有着深刻的理解。她曾任白宫助理，毕生致力于公共服务，并对我国三个政府部门之间的联系与界限有着清晰的把握。
She is a trailblazing leader — the first woman to serve as Dean of Harvard Law School — and one of the most successful and beloved deans in its history. And she is a superb Solicitor General, our nation’s chief lawyer representing the American people’s interests before the Supreme Court, the first woman in that position as well. And she has won accolades from observers across the ideological spectrum for her well-reasoned arguments and commanding presence. 她是一位开创性的领导者——哈佛法学院历史上首位女性院长——也是该院历史上最成功、最受爱戴的院长之一。她还是一位出色的总检察长，作为我国的首席律师在最高法院代表美国人民的利益，同样也是担任该职位的首位女性。她以论证严密、气场十足而赢得了来自不同意识形态阵营观察者的赞誉。
But Elena is respected and admired not just for her intellect and record of achievement, but also for her temperament — her openness to a broad array of viewpoints; her habit, to borrow a phrase from Justice Stevens, “of understanding before disagreeing”; her fair-mindedness and skill as a consensus-builder. 但埃琳娜之所以受人尊敬和钦佩，不仅因为她的才智和成就，更因为她的性情——她对各种不同观点的开放态度；借用史蒂文斯大法官的话来说，她“先理解再反对”的习惯；她的公正以及作为共识构建者的能力。
These traits were particularly evident during her tenure as dean. At a time when many believed that the Harvard faculty had gotten a little one-sided in its viewpoint, she sought to recruit prominent conservative scholars and spur a healthy debate on campus. And she encouraged students from all backgrounds to respectfully exchange ideas and seek common ground — because she believes, as I do, that exposure to a broad array of perspectives is the foundation not just for a sound legal education, but of a successful life in the law. 这些品质在她担任院长期间表现得尤为突出。当许多人认为哈佛教职员工的观点已略显单一时，她主动招募了著名的保守派学者，推动了校园内健康的辩论。她还鼓励来自不同背景的学生相互尊重地交流观点并寻求共识——因为她和我一样相信，接触多元视角不仅是健全法律教育的基础，也是在法律领域取得成功人生的基础。
This appreciation for diverse views may also come in handy as a die-hard Mets fan serving alongside her new colleague-to-be, Yankees fan Justice Sotomayor, who I believe has ordered a pinstriped robe for the occasion. 这种对多元观点的欣赏，也许在她作为死忠大都会队球迷，与新同事、洋基队球迷索托马约尔大法官共事时会派上用场——我相信索托马约尔大法官已经为此定制了一件细条纹的法袍。
But while Elena had a brilliant career in academia, her passion for the law is anything but academic. She has often referred to Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, for whom she clerked, as her hero. I understand that he reciprocated by calling her “Shorty.” Nonetheless, she credits him with reminding her that, as she put it, “behind law there are stories — stories of people’s lives as shaped by the law, stories of people’s lives as might be changed by the law…” 尽管埃琳娜在学术界拥有辉煌的职业生涯，但她对法律的热情绝非纸上谈兵。她经常提到她曾为之担任助理的最高法院大法官瑟古德·马歇尔是她的英雄。我知道马歇尔大法官也以称她为“小个子”作为回应。然而，她归功于马歇尔大法官提醒了她，用她的话说，“法律背后有故事——有人们的生活被法律塑造的故事，也有人们的生活可能被法律改变的故事……”
That understanding of law, not as an intellectual exercise or words on a page, but as it affects the lives of ordinary people, has animated every step of Elena’s career — including her service as Solicitor General today. 这种对法律的理解——不是把它视为一种智识练习或纸上的文字，而是把它视为影响普通人生活的力量——贯穿了埃琳娜职业生涯的每一步，包括她如今担任总检察长的任职。
During her time in this office, she’s repeatedly defended the rights of shareholders and ordinary citizens against unscrupulous corporations. Last year, in the Citizens United case, she defended bipartisan campaign finance reform against special interests seeking to spend unlimited money to influence our elections. Despite long odds of success, with most legal analysts believing the government was unlikely to prevail in this case, Elena still chose it as her very first case to argue before the Court. 在担任这一职务期间，她屡次捍卫股东和普通公民的权利，对抗那些不择手段的公司。去年，在“联合公民案”中，她捍卫了两党合作的竞选财务改革，对抗那些试图花费无限资金影响我们选举的特殊利益集团。尽管胜算渺茫，多数法律分析人士都认为政府在这起案件中不大可能获胜，埃琳娜仍将其选为自己在最高法院辩论的第一起案件。
I think that says a great deal not just about Elena’s tenacity, but about her commitment to serving the American people. I think it says a great deal about her commitment to protect our fundamental rights, because in a democracy, powerful interests must not be allowed to drown out the voices of ordinary citizens. 我认为这不仅充分说明了埃琳娜的坚韧，也充分说明了她为美国人民服务的承诺。我认为这也充分说明了她捍卫我们基本权利的承诺，因为在民主制度下，绝不能允许强大的利益集团淹没普通公民的声音。
And I think it says a great deal about the path that Elena has chosen. Someone as gifted as Elena could easily have settled into a comfortable life in a corporate law practice. Instead, she chose a life of service — service to her students, service to her country, service to the law and to all those whose lives it shapes. 我还认为，这充分说明了埃琳娜所选择的人生道路。像埃琳娜这样天赋异禀的人，本可以轻松地在公司律师行过上舒适的生活。然而，她选择了一种奉献的人生——为她的学生奉献，为她的国家奉献，为法律以及所有被法律所影响的人们奉献。
And given Elena’s upbringing, it’s a choice that probably came naturally. Elena is the granddaughter of immigrants whose mother was, for 20 years, a beloved public schoolteacher — as are her two brothers, who are here today. Her father was a housing lawyer, devoted to the rights of tenants. Both were the first in their families to attend college. And from an early age, they instilled in Elena not just the value of a good education, but the importance of using it to serve others. 考虑到埃琳娜的成长背景，这样的选择或许对她而言顺理成章。埃琳娜是移民的孙女，她的母亲曾做了20年受人爱戴的公立学校教师——她的两个兄弟也是教师，他们今天也来到了现场。她的父亲是一名住房律师，致力于维护租户的权利。她的父母都是家族中第一个上大学的人。从埃琳娜年幼时起，他们就不仅向她灌输良好教育的价值，更让她明白用所学去服务他人的重要性。
As she recalled during her Solicitor General confirmation hearings, “Both my parents wanted me to succeed in my chosen profession. But more than that, both drilled into me the importance of service, character, and integrity.” 正如她在总检察长任命听证会上回忆的那样：“我的父母都希望我在自己选择的职业中取得成功。但更重要的是，他们都向我反复强调服务、品格和正直的重要性。”
Elena has also spoken movingly about how her mother had grown up at a time when women had few opportunities to pursue their ambitions and took great joy in watching her daughter do so. 埃琳娜还动情地谈到，她的母亲成长于女性几乎没有机会追求自身抱负的年代，因此看到女儿能够实现自己的理想，母亲感到由衷的欣慰。
Neither she, nor Elena’s father, lived to see this day. But I think her mother would relish this moment. I think she would relish — as I do — the prospect of three women taking their seat on the nation’s highest Court for the first time in history. A Court that would be more inclusive, more representative, more reflective of us as a people than ever before. 她和埃琳娜的父亲都没有等到这一天。但我想她的母亲一定会为这一时刻感到欣慰。我想她会像我一样，为三位女性首次在我国最高法院任职而欢欣。一个更具包容性、更具代表性、比以往任何时候都更能反映我们这个民族面貌的最高法院。
And I think they would both be tremendously proud of their daughter — a great lawyer, a great teacher, and a devoted public servant who I am confident will make an outstanding Supreme Court justice. 我想他们都会为他们的女儿感到无比自豪——一位伟大的律师、一位伟大的教师、一位尽责的公仆，我相信她将成为一位出色的最高法院大法官。
So I hope that the Senate will act in a bipartisan fashion, as they did in confirming Elena to be our Solicitor General last year, and that they will do so as swiftly as possible, so she can get busy and take her seat in time to fully participate in the work of the Court this fall. 因此，我希望参议院能像去年确认埃琳娜担任我们的总检察长时一样，以两党合作的方式行动，并尽快完成这一程序，以便她能尽快投入工作并就职，赶上全面参与最高法院今年秋季的工作。
With that, I would like to invite the person who I believe will be the next Supreme Court justice of the United States, Elena Kagan, to say a few words. 下面，我想请这位我相信将成为美国下一任最高法院大法官的埃琳娜·卡根讲几句话。