判決は直ちには出ません。裁判は何年もかかるかもしれません。
I am wondering what the role of the second は particle in the above sentence is. Am I correct in thinking that it is a “contrastive” は? In that case, what is it contrasting with?
Or is the role of は different if it is coupled with another particle like に?
My guess would be that this は is used for emphasis, given that the previous word is 直ちに, which means “immediately” (also a grammar point in BunPro).
In this case it seems that は is stressing that judgement will not happen “immediately”. I could be wrong though, so take this with a grain of salt.
I agree. Should also point out that the sentence is negative, and these types of sentences have a greater tendency to utilize this kind of contrastive は for emphasizing what element is being negated, in this case the adverb.
Compare 判決は直ちには出ません。
with
判決は直ちに出ません。
The latter is very matter of fact, while the former contrasts this ruling with others that might typically take less time to be reached. Hence the follow up sentence which states that the trial could take years.
see also:
Very informative, thank you!