刑事案件法庭口譯與「受害者影響陳述書」Victim Impact Statement（中英雙語版）

6 月 2 日

2017年年初去新南威爾士州最高法院做一宗謀殺案的 sentencing hearing 量刑聽證會。我跟被告一起坐在被告席內，把聽證會的內容全程耳語口譯給他聽。被告對我很有禮貌，我雖然坐在殺人犯旁邊，卻一點都不害怕。

這是我做過的第二宗謀殺案口譯。我對那個悲傷的死者媽媽、強忍悲痛努力安慰媽媽的爸爸、和坐在我旁邊誤交損友和被冰毒害了一生的殺人犯，都感到無限遺憾。法官說 There are no winners here。兩個家庭的悲劇。

受害者的母親通過受害者支持人員在法庭上向法官讀出了“受害者影響陳述書”（Victim Impact Statement），把兩年來思念兒子的情緒全部宣洩出來，而為受害者家屬服務的翻譯員也非常專業流暢地翻出來了。連我都邊聽邊感到鼻酸，如果換做是感情更豐富的小姑娘當翻譯，可能哭得稀裡嘩啦翻不出來了。

較大的刑事案件被告被定罪之後，法官在做出判刑之前會先舉行量刑聽證會。法官在決定如何量刑時需要綜合考慮所有因素（自由心證），其中一項因素就是被告的罪行對受害者及其家屬造成的影響。

“受害者影響陳述書”是法庭人性化的一面，給受害者及其家屬一個向青天大老爺求公道、表達心聲的機會。我覺得受“害者影響陳述書”是法庭賦權（empower）給受害者的方式之一，讓受害者知道當權者已經聆聽了他們的心聲，而且他們的心聲因為在法庭上正式宣讀出來，因此將成為案件永久記錄的一部分。

不久前上網閱讀了最高法院就這個案子的判決書全文，法官在判決書里再次代表法庭和澳洲社會向家屬表達哀悼之意。這個的案子讓我感觸很深~

有興趣閱讀判決書全文的，可以點這裡：R v Fang (No. 4) [2017] NSWSC 323

法官特別在判決書的第62~64段談到法官聽了死者父母讀出的受害者影響陳述書後的感想。

© 2017-2024 Kenny Wang, PhD 語言學博士、法庭口譯員(Certified Specialist Legal Interpreter)
我是 @西雪梨大學 Western Sydney University 翻譯專業的老師☕️（對我們翻譯專業有興趣的同學歡迎猛戳上面的超連結看我寫的介紹喲！）

英文版：Victim Impact Statement and Court Interpreting

I attended the sentencing hearing of a murder trial in the NSW Supreme Court in 2017. The accused had been found guilty, and the hearing that day was for sentencing. I sat in the dock next to the murderer (no longer just a suspect, because he’d been found guilty already) and did chuchotage or whisper interpreting for the client throughout the hearing. The accused person was very courteous to me throughout. Even though I was sitting next to a convicted murderer, i wasn’t afraid.

It was the second court interpreting assignment I’d done for a homicide matter. I had nothing but tremendous sorrow for this accused person, for the immensely grief-stricken mother of the victim, and also for the father of the victim who was trying very hard, but not very successfully at all, to hold it in and to put on a brave face.

The judge said in sentencing, “There are no winners.” This matter was a great tragedy for both families, i.e. the family of the victim and of the offender.

The victim’s mother, with the support of a victim support staff, read out a “Victim Impact Statement” that she’d prepared beforehand. It was read out to the court through a court interpreter that’d been booked for the victim’s family (I was booked for the accused). The Victim Impact Statement served as an outlet for the mother, so that her cry for justice and her deep sorrow would be heard. Her heartfelt expressions touched everyone in the courtroom.

Her interpreter was absolutely marvelous, handling the task with the upmost level of professionalism. I was glad that it wasn’t me, because I had a lump in my throat from just listening to the mother making her statement. It would have been an incredibly difficult job for any interpreter, especially for someone who is easily moved to tears and who gets overcome with emotions in open court.

In serious indictable matters, once an accused is found guilty, the judge will need to take into account a whole raft of factors in determining the appropriate sentence. The judge’s task is to exercise their discretion in working out an appropriate sentence in the circumstances, bringing to bear their wealth of experience as a jurist. One such factor that the law says judges must take into account is the impact that the offending has had on the victim and the victim’s family.

Victim Impact Statement is a reflection of humanity in the legal system. It offers the victim and their family an opportunity to express their pain, knowing that they will be heard by the judge. It offers an emotional catharsis to the victim and their family, allowing them to take comfort in the knowledge that their grief and sorrow have not gone unnoticed, and that their feelings and voices will become a permanent part of the official record of the highest Court of the State, the Supreme Court of NSW.

If you're interested in reading the full judgment, click this link to read the full text: R v Fang (No. 4) [2017] NSWSC 323

The judge makes a special mention in paragraphs 62~64 of the judgment of his thoughts after hearing the Victim Impact Statements made by the parents of the deceased, which I will quote here to conclude this article:

Victim Impact Statements
62 A joint victim impact statement was made at the sentencing hearing by the mother and father of Mr Huang, [Ms Chen] and [Mr Huang Senior]. They recounted the fears and worries which they had when it was reported to them that their son had gone missing in September 2014. The receipt of the devastating news that he was dead had a great impact upon each of them. The consequences of that news, and the great distress which each of them experiences, was apparent at the sentencing hearing. I accept that there are long standing, indeed permanent adverse effects upon Mr Huang’s parents resulting from his death.
63 At the sentencing hearing, I expressed the condolences of the Court and the Australian community to Mr Huang’s parents for the loss of their son. It is important that the Court repeat that expression of condolences in the reasons of the Court.
64 It was accepted by the Crown and senior counsel for the Offender that the Court should have regard to the victim impact statement under s.28(4) Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 as an aspect of harm done to the community, and I have done so.