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This evidence must be overcome if Hoffman was to be freed. Leibowitz went himself to Staten Island and made discreet inquiries. He learned that besides Hoffman, a local man, Horatio Sharrett, a real-estate dealer, the brother of the Republican district party leader, had been identified near the murder spot on the afternoon of 25 March. Like Hoffman he was dark-complexioned, wore tortoiseshell spectacles, and drove a Ford Sedan. And, Leibowitz discovered, the police had been told to lay off Sharrett by District Attorney Fach.
如果要使霍夫曼獲得自由，這些證據(jù)都必須要被推翻。于是，萊博維茨親自去了斯塔恩島，進行了謹慎的調(diào)查。他獲悉，除了霍夫曼，當(dāng)?shù)剡€有一名叫霍雷肖·夏雷特的房地產(chǎn)經(jīng)銷商，他是共和黨選區(qū)政黨領(lǐng)導(dǎo)人的兄弟，也被指認3月25日下午在謀殺地點附近出現(xiàn)過。像霍夫曼一樣，他的膚色黝黑，戴著一副玳瑁眼鏡，開著一輛福特轎車。而且，萊博維茨還發(fā)現(xiàn)，地區(qū)檢察官法赫告訴警察不要打攪夏雷特。
Hoffman, Leibowitz became convinced, was the victim of a chain of faulty circumstantial evidence and fabricated evidence of identification, exactly the sort of testimony which can result in a miscarriage of justice, and especially in the conviction of a man who, knowing the apparent strength of the case against him, sets out to fabricate an alibi.
萊博維茨確信，霍夫曼是一連串錯誤的間接證據(jù)和偽證的犧牲品，是那種完全可以導(dǎo)致正義流產(chǎn)的證據(jù)，尤其是那些要判定一位曾著手偽造不在場證據(jù)的人有罪的證據(jù)，因為他很明顯地知道案件對他極其不利。
Slowly and carefully Leibowitz picked a jury from the hundred and fifty talesmen. In his opening address he referred, quite casually, to the presence of Horatio Sharrett near the scene of the crime, and from Police Patrolman Cosgrove he drew the information that he had seen a Ford car nearby driven by Horatio Sharrett.
萊博維茨從150個候補陪審員中小心謹慎地挑選了出一個陪審團。他在開場白中很隨意地提到，夏雷特也曾出現(xiàn)在犯罪現(xiàn)場附近。而且，他從巡邏警察科斯格羅夫處了解到，科斯格羅夫曾在附近看見夏雷特駕駛過一輛福特汽車。
