On June 16th, FBI started to conduct electronic surveillance against Christensen.

6月29日FBI监听到Christensen在电话中讲述他绑架并囚禁章莹颖的过程；

On June 29th, FBI overheard Christensen on the phone explaining how he had kidnapped Zhang Yingying and held her against her will in his home.

6月30日，Christensen因涉嫌绑架章莹颖被捕；

On June 30th, Christensen was arrested.

7月3日，Christensen第一次出庭，并保持沉默；

On July 3rd, Christensen appeared in court for the first time and kept his silence.

7月5日，法官认为Christensen对社会构成潜在危害，裁定嫌疑人不得取保候审；

On July 5th, the judge denied the bail petition by Christensen.

7月12日，联邦大陪审团以绑架罪起诉嫌疑人Christensen；

On July 12th, Christensen was indicted by grand jury for kidnapping.

7月20日，嫌疑人Christensen过堂，并坚持其无罪辩护；联邦法官宣布，该案暂定的庭审日期定于9月12日。

On July 20th, Christensen was arraigned and he pled not guilty to the kidnapping charge. A federal judge then scheduled a provisional trial date for September 12th.

柳治平介绍说：

在美国，刑事案件中的被告有权享有“无罪推定”，检察官必须举证证明他有罪；

In the United States, defendants in criminal cases are presumed to be innocent unless proven guilty by the prosecutor beyond reasonable doubt.

根据“美国宪法第五修正案”，刑事案件中的被告不能被迫成为自己的证人自证其罪；被告有权保持沉默，拒绝回答可能导致他们戴罪的问题，一般而言，被告不必因此而受惩罚。

The defendant could also invoke his rights against self-incrimination under the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution of the United States, i.e., he has the right to remain silent and refuse to answer any self-incriminating questions, and usually can do so without suffering from any penalty.

柳治平解释说：

“在搜查或逮捕犯罪嫌疑人之前，检察官与警方必须在法院获得搜查令，要向法院证明警官们知晓的具体的事实本身足够让一个合理地审慎的人相信：犯罪赚疑人犯罪了。这个标准高于‘合理的嫌疑’，但是低于刑事定罪的‘没有合理疑问的确定性’的标准。在处理任何刑事案件时，政府必须尊重被告的上述宪法权利。”