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I wanted to conduct my own defence in court, but as soon as my father found out what had happened, he hired a very good solicitor. We went along that Monday armed with all kinds of witnesses, including my English teacher from school as a character witness. But he was never called on to give evidence. My “trial” didn't get that far. The magistrate dismissed the case after fifteen minutes. I was free. The poor police had never stood a chance. The solicitor even succeeded in getting costs awarded against the police.
我想在法庭上作自我辯護，但父親知道這事后，馬上請了一位高明的律師。我們星期一出庭的時候，帶了各種各樣的證人，其中包括我中學的英語老師，做我人品的見證人。但結果法庭沒有叫他作證。我的“審判”沒有進行到那一步。開庭15分鐘，法官就駁回了對我的指控。我無罪獲釋。可憐的警方敗訴，我的律師甚至讓法庭責成警方承擔了訴訟費用。
And so I do not have a criminal record. But what was most shocking at the time was the things my release from the charge so clearly depended on. I had the “right” accent, respectable middle-class parents in court, reliable witnesses, and I could obviously afford a very good solicitor. Given the obscure nature of the charge, I feel sure that if I had come from a different background, and had really been unemployed, there is every chance that I would have been found guilty. While asking for costs to be awarded, my solicitor's case quite obviously revolved around the fact that I had a “brilliant academic record”.
這樣，我的履歷上沒有留下犯罪的記錄。但當時最令人震驚的，是那些顯然導致宣布我無罪的證據。我講話的口音“表明我教養良好”，到庭的有體面的中產階級的雙親，有可靠的證人，還有，我顯然請得起一名很好的律師。從對我指控的這種捕風捉影的做法來看，我肯定，如果我出身在另一種背景的家庭里，并且真的是失了業的話，我完全可能被判有罪。當我的律師要求賠償訴訟費時，他公然把辯護的證據建立在我“學業優異”這一事實上。
Meanwhile, just outside the courtroom, one of the policemen who had arrested me was gloomily complaining to my mother that another youngster had been turned against the police. “You could have been a bit more helpful when we arrested you,” he said to me reproachfully.
與此同時，就在審判室外面，一位抓我的警察正在沮喪地向我母親抱怨，說是又一個小伙子要跟警察作對了。他帶著責備的口氣對我說，“我們抓你的時候，你本可以稍微幫點忙的。”
What did he mean? Presumably that I should have looked outraged and said something like, “Look here, do you know who you're talking to? I am a highly successful student with a brilliant academic record. How dare you arrest me!” Then they, presumably, would have apologized, perhaps even taken off their caps, and let me on my way.
他說這話什么意思?大概是說我本該顯出憤憤不平的樣子，并說，“喂，留神點，你知道你在跟誰說話？我是學業出眾的高材生。你敢抓我！”那樣一來，他們或許會向我道歉，說不定還會脫帽致意，讓我走開呢。
