美司法部长吐槽：挑战起了美国司法系统

美司法部长吐槽：挑战起了美国司法系统（图 via Santa Clara University)▲Emojis are increasingly coming up in court cases. Judges are struggling with how to interpret them (via CNN)Vinson & Elkins国际律师事务所合伙人贾森·莱文(Jason Levine)，已经处理过多起涉表情包证据的案件。他告诉CNN Business，很多法官对陡增的涉表情包案件还没做好充分准备，尤其是那些上了年纪的，对这种新兴的表达方式不熟悉的法官们。▲Emojis are increasingly coming up in court cases. Judges are struggling with how to interpret them (via CNN)圣塔克拉拉大学法学教授埃里克·戈德曼

一把小刀的表情包代表死亡威胁？一个爱心表情包就是性骚扰？

如今，人们随意发个表情包，却可能是在给律师出难题，给法官添堵……

据CNN报道，涉及表情包的诉讼案件在美国与日俱增。律师们不得不就那些小小的表情包所蕴含的涵义在法庭上唇枪舌剑，因为不同的人很可能对同一个表情包进行不同解读。而法院也不得不努力处理表情包证据之间的细微差别。

（图 via theverge.com)

Vinson & Elkins国际律师事务所合伙人贾森·莱文(Jason Levine)，已经处理过多起涉表情包证据的案件。他告诉CNN Business，很多法官对陡增的涉表情包案件还没做好充分准备，尤其是那些上了年纪的，对这种新兴的表达方式不熟悉的法官们。

"Someone may use threatening symbols a gun a pointed finger and then behind it put a symbol for 'just joking '" said attorney Karen S. Elliott of Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellott a firm that has worked on cases with emojis. “有人可能会使用威胁符号、枪、用手指指指点点的符号，然后在后面加上一个‘只是开玩笑’的符号，”Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellott律师事务所的凯伦·S·艾略特律师说道。该律师事务所已经处理过几起涉表情包案件。"There is a lot that could get lost in the translation. Was it a joke? Or was it serious? Or was the person just using the emoji to hedge so that they could later argue it was not serious?"“诠释表情包过程中，很多东西可能导致迷惑。这是个玩笑吗？还是严肃的？或者那个人只是用这个表情来闪烁其词，以便他们日后可以争辩说它不是认真的？”

▲Emojis are increasingly coming up in court cases. Judges are struggling with how to interpret them (via CNN)

圣塔克拉拉大学法学教授埃里克·戈德曼(Eric Goldman)一直在监测法庭判决。他发现，在美国，将表情包作为呈堂证供的案件，由2017年的33起上升到2018年的53起。而截至2019年上半年，这一数字已经接近50起了。在性骚扰、刑事案件和职场诉讼案件中，经常涉及表情包证据。

No court guidelines exist on how to approach the topic. Sometimes a judge might describe the emoji in question to jurors rather than allow them to see and interpret it for themselves. In some cases emojis are omitted from evidence altogether Goldman said.关于如何处理这个问题，法院没有指导方针。有时候，法官可能会向陪审员描述某个（有争议的）表情符号，而不是让他们自己看到它并对它进行解读。戈德曼说，在某些案件中，表情符号被完全从证据中删除。

▲Emojis are increasingly coming up in court cases. Judges are struggling with how to interpret them (via CNN)

（图 via Santa Clara University)

表情符号管理机构统一码联盟(Unicode Consortium)，管理着超过2823个表情符号，涉及食物、饮料、手势、活动和面部表情。

Emojis can be especially misinterpreted when used without text according to ABI Research analyst Stephanie Tomsett. ABI Research分析师斯蒂芬妮•汤姆塞特表示，如果不使用文字，表情符号特别容易被误解。For example a face with sunglasses could be used to convey a sunny day feeling cool or "deal with it." Similarly the emoji with smoke coming out of the nose could be read as "angry" when it's intended to mean "triumph."例如，一张戴着太阳镜的脸可以用来表达一个阳光明媚的日子，感觉很酷或者“处理它”的意思。同样，鼻孔冒烟的表情符号可以解读为“愤怒”，而它的意思是“胜利”。

▲Emojis are increasingly coming up in court cases. Judges are struggling with how to interpret them (via CNN)

你觉得以下这些鼻孔冒烟的表情包到底是生气呢，还是胜利后的长吁一口气呢？

不同平台上的“胜利”表情包（图 via CNN)

因此，汤姆塞特认为，表情包不可作为通用语言。

That's especially true when you consider how symbols vary by culture.当你考虑到符号如何因文化而异时，这一点尤其正确。The thumbs-up gesture has been up for debate as offensive or vulgar in the Middle East while it's a sign of something good in other parts of the world. 在中东，竖起大拇指的手势一直被认为是无礼或粗俗的，而在世界其他地方，这是表达“好”的手势。

▲Emojis are increasingly coming up in court cases. Judges are struggling with how to interpret them (via CNN)

不过，在法庭案件中，表情符号最大的争论点之一在于，它们在不同的平台上有不同的表现形式。

In a 2016 study from the University of Minnesota participants rated popular emoji characters on Android and iOS as positive or negative. In the case of the emoji called "a grinning face with smiling eyes " some people interpreted the image as "blissfully happy" on Android while it looked like it was "ready to fight" on iOS.2016年明尼苏达大学的一项研究中，参与者将安卓和iOS上流行的表情符号分为正面或负面。在这个名为“笑眯眯的脸和微笑的眼睛”的表情符号中，一些人认为这个表情符号在安卓系统上是“幸福快乐”的，而在iOS系统上看起来像是“准备战斗”。

（图 via The Washington Post)
Another study found about 25% of participants were unaware the emojis they posted on Twitter could appear differently based on their followers' devices. After being shown how one of their tweets rendered across platforms 20% said they would have edited or not sent the tweet. 另一项研究发现，约25%的参与者不知道，他们在推特上发布的表情符号可能会因关注者的设备不同而呈现不同形式。当被告知他们的一条推文在不同平台上的呈现有所不同之后，20%的人表示他们会编辑或不发送这条推文。

▲Emojis are increasingly coming up in court cases. Judges are struggling with how to interpret them (via CNN)

（图 via 网络)

不过，戈德曼认为，随着更多的表情符号出现在案件中，这个问题最终会自行解决。

"With the proliferation of any new technology there is an adjustment period for everyone including judges " he said. "As judges become more familiar and comfortable with emojis they will figure out the best ways to adapt existing legal principles to [them]."“随着任何新技术的普及，每个人都有一个调整期，包括法官。随着法官们对表情符号越来越熟悉并运用自如，他们将找出使现有法律原则适应表情符号的最佳方法，”戈德曼说道。

▲Emojis are increasingly coming up in court cases. Judges are struggling with how to interpret them (via CNN)

你怎么看涉表情包案件在美国与日俱增？欢迎留言并分享你的观点！

整合：Du Qiongfang

原文：CNN

图/题图：CNN The Washington Post theverge.com Santa Clara University 网络