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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辩护，但父亲知道这事后，马上请了一位高明的律师。我们星期一出庭的时候，带了各种各样的证人，其中包括我中学的英语老师，做我人品的见证人。但结果法庭没有叫他作证。我的“审判”没有进行到那一步。开庭15分钟，法官就驳回了对我的指控。我无罪获释。可怜的警方败诉，我的律师甚至让法庭责成警方承担了诉讼费用。
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”.
这样，我的履历上没有留下犯罪的记录。但当时最令人震惊的，是那些显然导致宣布我无罪的证据。我讲话的口音“表明我教养良好”，到庭的有体面的中产阶级的双亲，有可靠的证人，还有，我显然请得起一名很好的律师。从对我指控的这种捕风捉影的做法来看，我肯定，如果我出身在另一种背景的家庭里，并且真的是失了业的话，我完全可能被判有罪。当我的律师要求赔偿诉讼费时，他公然把辩护的证据建立在我“学业优异”这一事实上。
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.
与此同时，就在审判室外面，一位抓我的警察正在沮丧地向我母亲抱怨，说是又一个小伙子要跟警察作对了。他带着责备的口气对我说，“我们抓你的时候，你本可以稍微帮点忙的。”
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.
他说这话什么意思?大概是说我本该显出愤愤不平的样子，并说，“喂，留神点，你知道你在跟谁说话？我是学业出众的高材生。你敢抓我！”那样一来，他们或许会向我道歉，说不定还会脱帽致意，让我走开呢。
