commission of a dangerous felony, may be labeled first degree murder and punishable by death or long imprisonment. Other forms of murder may be of the second degree and punishable with a lesser penalty. According to the common law, however, there were no degrees of murder. Any unlawful killing was either murder or manslaughter.
（b）谋杀的等级
一些州根据杀人的实际情况对谋杀罪规定了不同的惩罚。“故意的、蓄意的、预谋的”杀人，如投毒或在危险性重犯中杀人可能被定为一级谋杀并判处死刑或长期监禁。其他类型的谋杀可能是二级谋杀并被判处较轻的刑罚。但是按照普通法，不存在谋杀的等级。任何非法的杀人行为要么是谋杀要么是非预谋杀人。
2. Manslaughter
Manslaughter was defined at common law as an unlawful killing of another without malice. It could be either voluntary or involuntary.
非预谋杀人在普通法中被定义为没有预谋地非法杀害他人的行为。它可以是故意或非故意。
Manslaughter, in contrast to murder, is usually punishable by a prison term which may range from one year to ten or fourteen years.
与谋杀相比，非预谋杀人通常被判处一年到十年或十五年的监禁。 (a) Voluntary Manslaughter
An intentional killing upon \provocation\and \the heat of passion\is the killing by a husband (or wife) who unexpectedly finds his or her spouse in an act of sexual intercourse with another person, or in a situation evidencing impending or immediately concluded adulterous conduct. A killing of the paramour or of the spouse, or both, in such a circumstance would fall within the category of manslaughter because (a) the provocation was great, and (b) the killer was in the \
（a）故意的非预谋杀人
在“激怒”或“激情”状态下故意杀人构成故意的非预谋杀人罪。其典型的例子是丈夫（或妻子）无意中发现配偶与他人正在发生性关系，或者在证明通奸行为即将或者马上就要进行的情况下实施的杀人行为。在这种情况下，杀死配偶的奸夫（妇）或者将二人都杀死就属于非预谋杀人的范畴，这是因为（1）杀人者受到激怒而且（2）“处于激情状态
下”。
A killing of this type is treated less harshly than murder, out of consideration for the frailties of human nature. In other words, there is an understanding appreciation that the instinctive reaction of the husband (or wife) in such a situation is to kill or do other serious harm. Nevertheless, there is a feeling that such conduct should be discouraged by a criminal sanction, but one with a penalty considerably less than for the crime of murder.
考虑到人类本性的缺点，这类杀人受到的处罚轻于谋杀。换句话说，人们对于丈夫或妻子在这种状况下的本能反应要么是杀人要么实施其他的伤害行为是理解的（有一种理解性的评价）。尽管如此，人们还是感到这种行为应当通过刑事惩罚受到制止，但是应当是一种比谋杀罪轻得多的惩罚。
It is of interest to note that in such paramour killing cases the conviction rate is quite low, primarily because of the willingness of juries to accept occasionally the frequently concocted explanation that the killing was done in self?defense; in other words, the paramour attacked the spouse, who killed his \only in order to keep from being killed himself. The result of acquittal in such cases is sometimes described in the press as an acquittal by reason of \
值得注意的是在这种杀害奸夫（妇）的案件中判罪率很低，这主要是因为陪审团时不时地愿意接受（被告）通常所编造的关于杀人是在自卫中实施的这种解释，换句话说，是由于奸夫（妇）袭击这位配偶，因此他（她）只是为了防止自己被杀死而杀死了这位“袭击者”。在这类案件中的无罪判决有时被媒体称为根据“无字之法”作出的无罪判决。
A few states (Texas, New Mexico, and Utah) have tried to simplify the whole matter of paramour killings by legalizing such killings where the paramour is caught in the act. But in those states the privilege does not extend to the killing of the participating spouse!
有不少的州（得克萨斯、新墨西哥和犹他州）已经试着在起立法中通过将在奸夫（妇）被捉的情况下发生的此类杀人行为合法化而使整个的奸夫（妇）被杀问题简单化。但是在这些州当中，这种特权并没有延伸到杀死参与通奸的配偶！
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In applying the test of whether an intentional killing was upon great provocation and in the heat of passion, the question is put to the jury, or to the judge in non?jury cases, as to whether the accused reacted as a \temper of the killer that is taken into consideration, but rather an effort is made to determine how a \circumstances. An illustration of this is a famous English case where a sexually impotent man felt insulted by the remarks of a prostitute with whom he had tried in vain to have sexual intercourse, and he proceeded to kill her. He contended that his sensitivity over his condition should be taken into account in determining whether there was serious provocation for this reaction, but the court held that his conduct was to be judged by the standard of an ordinary, normal \
某一故意杀人行为是否在激怒或激情之下实施所适用的判断标准问题由陪审团或者在无陪审团的案件中的法官按照被告是否是一个“通情达理的人”来解决。从技术上来讲，并不考虑杀人者的具体的感受或情绪，而是要确定“一个通情达理的人”在类似情况下会作出怎样的行为。一个英国案例可以说明这一点。在该案中，一个阳痿的男人在试图与一名妓女发生性关系失败后感觉受到该妓女某些言辞的侮辱，因而杀死了她。他主张在认定他的这种反应是否存在激怒的情况时，应当将他在这种情况下的感受考虑进去。但是法庭认为他的行为要根据一般标准，即正常的“通情达理的人”的标准进行判断。
(b) Involuntary Manslaughter
Involuntary manslaughter may be described generally as an unintentional killing resulting from gross negligence, or as a result of dangerous unlawful conduct. For example, a person who throws a heavy object from the upper stories of a building into an alley used with some frequency by pedestrians may be guilty of manslaughter if a killing results. Likewise, a motorist may commit manslanghter if he kills a child at a school crossing while travelling at an excessive speed.
（b）非故意的非预谋杀人
非故意的非预谋杀人一般可以被定义为由于重大疏忽或者作为危险的非法行为的结果而非故意地致人死亡。比如，一个人从一栋大楼的高层向常有行人行走的小巷投掷重物，如果导致杀人的结果，就可能构
成非故意的非预谋杀人罪。同样，汽车驾驶人如果在学校区的人行横道超速行驶而撞死学生也可能构成该项犯罪。
A number of states have created a related crime known as \homicide\who were driving in a reckless or grossly negligent manner. This special kind of homicide legislation was enacted because of the difficulty encountered in convicting motorists for the more revoltingly labeled offense of manslaughter (i.e., the slaughter of a man), which also carried, traditionally, a minimum penalty of one year in the penitentiary. It was thought advisable to categorize such conduct with the less revolting label of reckless or negligent homicide and also to permit the imposition of lesser penalties than the one prescribed for manslaughter. Stated another way, it is better to obtain a reasonable number of convictions carrying relatively light penalties than to get very few convictions carrying heavy penalties. The permissible range of penalties in reckless homicide or negligent homicide statutes is generally a fine up to $1,000, or incarceration other than in a penitentiary for any period up to one year, or imprisonment in a penitentiary up to five years. (Where the traffic victim of such conduct does not die, another new statutory offense may be invoked--\
很多州已经创设了一个与此相关的罪名，叫做“疏忽大意杀人”或“过失杀人”，它们适用于汽车驾驶人以一种疏忽大意或者重大过失的方式致人死亡的行为。制定这种特使种类的杀人罪立法是因为在将汽车驾驶人定罪为非预谋杀人（即对人的屠杀——英文中“对人的屠杀”的复合词）罪这个越来越令人反感的罪名时所遇到的难题，而且这种罪行传统上还带有最低在矫正机构服刑一年的刑罚。因此将这种行为归入不太令人反感的疏忽大意或者过失杀人罪名当中并且允许判处比对非预谋杀人罪规定的更轻的刑罚被认为是比较可取的。换一种说法，即有适当数量的带有相对较轻的刑罚的定罪要强于虽有重罚但定罪很少的情况。在关于疏忽大意或过失杀人的法律中，允许的刑罚范围一般最高1000美元罚金，或者最高一年的监禁而不在矫正机构中服刑，或者在矫正机构中服刑最高五年的处罚。（在这类行为的交通受害人没有死亡的情况下，可援引另一新的法定罪名“疏忽大意行为”。）
The flexibility of penalties in traffic death cases has the effect of encouraging pleas of guilty from offenders, and it results in convictions that
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might not be secured if a judge or jury had no choice other than a penitentiary sentence or an acquittal.
在交通（肇事致人）死亡案件中刑罚的灵活性产生一种鼓励罪犯认罪的效果，而且这导致了那些如果法官或陪审团除了选择矫正机构服刑或无罪之外别无选择便可能无法作出有罪判决。
3. Federal Homicide Law
There is no general federal homicide law. There can be none, in fact, since constitutional authority is lacking for Congress to legislate upon the subject, except with respect to killings within a federal territory, in federal 在大多数州，谋杀罪和非预谋杀人罪都是由各州法律管辖，这些法律都基本上继承了普通法的形式。但是目前有一种正在进行的法律现代化趋势。1961年《伊利诺斯刑法典》就是一个很好的例子。比如，在对谋杀进行定义的时候，它避免了诸如“预谋”和“冷酷邪恶之心”之类的用于，而是用了更为准确和含义丰富的术语。
According to the Illinois Code, a person who kills another individual without lawful excuse commits murder (a) if he intended to kill him or do great bodily harm; or (b) if, without intending to kill, it clearly appears that he must have known that his conduct probably would cause death; or (c) if buildings or upon other federal property, or killings of federal officials or officers.
第三部分 联邦杀人罪法
不存在普遍的联邦杀人罪法。事实上，由于除了对在某一联邦领土内、在联邦大楼中或者其他的联邦财产上的杀人行为或者针对联邦官员的杀人行为之外，国会没有对此类问题进行立法的宪法性权利，因此也不可能有普遍的联邦杀人罪立法。
Example
X, without justification or excuse, shoots and kills Y in a Post Office. X has committed a federal offense of criminal homicide.
X在没有正当理由的情况下，在一家邮局射杀Y。X实施了联邦杀人罪。
Example
X, a bank robber fugitive about to be apprehended by an F. B. I. agent, shoots and kills the agent. X is guilty of a federal crime of murder.
X是一名正在由联邦调查局特工追捕的抢劫银行的逃犯，他开枪射杀了这名特工。X犯有联邦谋杀罪。
4. Modern Murder?Manslaughter Legislation
In most states the crimes of murder and manslaughter are covered in state statutes closely patterned after the common law. A trend is now under way, however, to modernize the law. The 1961 Illinois Criminal Code is a good example. In defining murder, for instance, it avoids such language as \meaningful terminology.
第四部分 当代谋杀-非预谋杀人罪立法体系
death resulted from the commission of a very serious crime like robbery, burglary or rape.
根据该刑法典，一个人在没有合法理由的情况下杀死另一个人，（1）如果他故意杀死他或者造成其重大身体伤害；或者（2）在没有杀人的故意的情况下，如果清楚表明他应当知道其行为可能会导致死亡；或者（3）如果死亡是由实施诸如抢劫、入室盗窃或者强奸之类的非常危险的犯罪所造成的，那么就构成谋杀罪。
5. Capital Punishment
For many years there has been much controversy as to whether capital punishment serves its intended purpose--a deterrent to murder. The issue is still unresolved among researchers on the subject. The capital punishment controversy has become rather academic, however, by reason of the rapid decline in executions in recent years. Although there were 199 executions in 1935, there was only one in the entire United States in 1966, two in 1967 and none in 1968. Yet in each of the latter three years over four hundred persons were under sentence of death.
第五部分 死刑
多年来对于死刑是否能够实现其预期的制止谋杀目的一直存有许多争论。这一问题在研究人员之间仍然没有得到解决。但是，由于近年来死刑执行快速减少的原因，关于死刑的争论变得仅局限于学术方面。尽管在1935年有199人被执行死刑，但到了1966年在美国却只有1人被执行死刑，1967年2人，1968年没有。不过在接下来的3年当中每年都有400多人被宣判死刑。
In addition to an increasing unwillingness to execute murderers who have been sentenced to death, a legal concept was recently developed and
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enunciated by the Supreme Court of the United States regarding jury selection in capital cases that will make jury imposition of the death penalty much more difficult to obtain. The Court held that prospective jurors could not be rejected solely because of conscientious scruples against the death penalty. To do so, said the Court, constitutes a deprivation of due process, because the defendant would not then be accorded a trial by a \and impartial jury\
除了人们对已经被宣判死刑的谋杀犯越来越不愿意执行之外，最近美国最高法院最近提出并阐述了一个关于在死刑案件中陪审团选择的法律观念也使得陪审团对犯人判处死刑有了更大的难度。最高法院裁定，即任陪审员不得仅仅因为其反对死刑的良心顾虑而被要求退出陪审团。最高法院认为，如果这样做，就构成了对正当程序的剥夺，因为被告无法获得由“公正和公平的陪审团”的审判。
Exclusion because of such beliefs alone is permissible only when the prospective juror states that he would not consider setting them aside in the particular case for which he was called for jury service.
只有在即任陪审员声明他不会考虑在其参与陪审的特定案件中弃之不管的情况下，才允许仅仅由于这种观念而将其排除到陪审团之外。 法律英语第9课《合同法介绍》中英对照
Part One Contract and Contract Law 合同与合同法 1
Contract, as we will use that term, ordinarily connotes an agreement between two or more persons—not merely a shared belief, but a common understanding as to something which is to be done in the future by one or both of them.
1.当我们使用“合同”一词的时候，通常是说它是一份存在于两方或三方之间的契约。它不是一种简单的信任，而是通常理解为合同的一方或双方在将来的时候都要去做的某种事情。
Sometimes, the term contract is used also to refer to a document—the set of papers in which such an agreement is set forth.
2.有时候，“合同”也用来指一套包括四部分内容的文件。
For lawyers, contract usually is used to refer to agreement
that has legal effect; i.e., it creates obligations for which some sort of legal enforcement will be available if performance is not forthcoming as promised.
3.对于律师而言，“合同”通常是指具有法律效力的协议，即设置了一种法律义务，当某行为没有按照预先约定的那样去履行时，可以依照合同去依法强制履行。
【对于律师而言，“合同”通常是指当某方没有按照预先约定履行义务时，当事人可以依照这个文件依法强制对方去履行的法律协议书。】这种翻译方式比较符合现代汉语的句式结构，但是在口译时比较费劲。
Thus, it will sometimes be necessary to distinguish among three elements in a transaction, each of which can be called a contract: (1) the agreement –in-fact between the parties, (2) the agreement-as- written (which may or may not correspond accurately to the agreement-in-fact), and (3)the set of rights and duties created by (1) and (2).
4.因此，有时候，在一次交易中，区分三种不同的因素就变得非常必要，这些因素中的每个因素都可以叫做合同：（1）双方之间的事实合同（2）书面合同，它可能与事实合同不完全一致（3）基于前（1）（2）两项而对应产生的权利和义务。
注：此段的“合同”是基于我国《合同法》的分类而翻译的，《合同法》规定了“事实合同”“书面合同”，而非“事实协议”“书面协议”。
Without trying at this point to state a short but
comprehensive definition of law (if that were possible), it is perhaps sufficient to suggest that we will be surveying the ways in which such agreements are made and enforced in our legal system-the role of lawyers and judges in creating contracts, in deciding disputes that may arise with respect to their
performance, and in fashioning appropriate remedies for their breach.
5.在权利义务问题上，如果情况可以允许，我们可做到不用去努力阐明这种短少但包含法律意义的界定情况，那么它就强烈建议我们在早
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己设定好的合同和现行法律（定义）柜架下的去审视在（订立）创制合同中律师和法官的（角色）作用，他们会解决各方行为引发的争执以及对违约行为以恰当的形式进行补偿。
2
In the Anglo-American legal system, a great number of things-both tangible and intangible-are susceptible of “ownership.”
1.在英美法律体系中，有相当大部分的法律都明确或者间接的规定了所有权这个敏感的问题。
A bulldozer, a diamond ring, the Empire State Building, “Gone With the Wind”— all may be the “property” of one person or group of persons, which means that the state will protect the right of the “owner” to use, enjoy, and even consume that thing, to the exclusion of all other persons.
2.从一台推土机、一枚钻戒到帝国大厦、小说《飘》，都可能是一个人或者一些人的财产。这意味着国家将保护所有权人对其所有物的使用、享受甚至是毁灭的权利，同时排除他人对此行为的干涉。
The first-year property course traditionally focuses on the detailed rules that in Anglo-American law govern the ownership of “real property” (land and the buildings on it).
3. 按照惯例，第一年的财产课程会侧重于英美法律对财产保护的详细规定，诸如土地和地上物等不动产的所有权的细化性规定。
Later you will have the opportunity to explore bodies of law relating to ownership of other, less tangible, kinds of property such as copyrights, patents, shares of corporate stock, and negotiable instruments.
4.然后，你将会学习到基本是对版权、专利权，股权，可转让票据等无形财产的所有权的法律保护。
3 Any society that recognizes property rights must also address the question of how it should respond when someone violates those rights.
1.任何社会一旦承认财产的所有权，那么它就必须解决如何处置“侵犯财产权”的问题。
And property rights are not the only kind of individual rights that may need legal protection.
2.财产权不是由法律简单地保护的一种个体性权利。 Even societies that do not permit private ownership of wealth to the degree that ours does are likely to recognize the personal rights of individuals to be free from certain kinds of conduct such as the infliction of physical injury or other interferences with their individual freedom or dignity.
3.甚至，社会不允许财产所有权个人肆意同意他人创设某种随意侵害他人身体或其他有损他人个体自由或者尊严的行为的权利。
The courses in criminal law and torts deal with different aspects of this question: Criminal law focuses on those
violations of personal and property rights that society deems serious enough to be deterred by threat of severe punishment for their commission (robbery, rape, and murder are obvious examples); tort law considers what remedy should be made available to the individuals so injured.
4.关于（财产权的保护）这个问题，刑法和民事侵权行为法有自己有不同的规定：刑法侧重于对个人和财产性权利不受妨害的保护，即社会认为这些犯罪行为的危险性已经严重到须以一系列刑罚惩处方可阻止的程度。比如抢劫、强奸、谋杀都是明显的例子。民事侵权法则认为对于个体的伤害应给予有效的赔偿。
Because of the nature of the conduct regulated, criminal law and tort law overlap to a great degree, but they are not congruent.
5.由行为在本质上的不同，因此，刑法和民事侵权法即使有很大部分是重合的，但二者并不完全相同。
Many acts are criminal but not tortuous, because they are offenses not against individuals but against the state—treason, for example, or tax evasion; others, such as slander, may be tortious but not criminal.
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