Unit 1B - Justice Gets Its Shot at Policeman
Justice Gets Its Shot at Policeman
Mike Royko
Joel Smith is in poor health and he is thinking of retiring to a quiet cabin in Tennessee. But a few years ago he was strong and he liked his job as a cop in the Chicago suburb of Rosemont.
One day in 1979, he was informed that a man was firing a gun in front of an apartment complex. The man had quarreled with his girlfriend and had fired a gun into the air to scare away people who were interfering. Then he dragged her into his apartment.
Smith and his partner hurried there, knocked, and told him to let the girl go. But the man threatened that if they came in, he would blow their rear quarters off. When they kicked the door open, the man shot twice, Smith was hit in the hand and leg. Then the man threw down his gun and surrendered.
He was Kerry Rudman, 33, and no stranger to trouble. At the time of the shooting, he was awaiting trial for robbing a jewelry store in a suburban shopping mall.
Smith spent a week in the hospital and six weeks at home. But by 1981 he had to have further surgery on his hand. And a month later, he suffered a stroke. The doctors said the blood clot could have been the result of the bullet wounds.
His marriage suffered and ended in divorce. That, too, he says was the result of the shooting.
Rudman pleaded guilty and was sentenced to a total of six years in prison for the robbery and the shooting of Smith.
But he served less than half of that. He was out in 27 months. So that amounts to about a year for shooting and possibly disabling a cop, and a year for robbing a jewelry store.
While in prison, Rudman developed a thirst for knowledge and went to the prison library. He read law books, and then filed a federal suit against the policemen. He said they attacked him and that he shot only in self-defence. And they beat him so badly that they broke one of his fingers. This, he said, deprived him of his civil rights, and he asked for 150,000 dollars in damages.
When Smith heard about the law suit, he was outraged at Rudman's gall. So Smith sued Rudman for shooting him.
“It wasn't that I was after money. I just wanted to make sure that he was found guilty again in the civil suit.”
A jury agreed with Smith. They later awarded him 35,000 dollars damages from Rudman. But Smith hasn't seen a nickel of the money.
It turned out that Rosemont's insurance company decided that fighting Rudman's civil rights suit wasn't worth the legal expense. So the company offered Rudman a 6,000 dollars settlement. Being no dummy, he quickly accepted. Not many guys shoot a cop and pocket 6,000 dollars for their efforts.
Smith's lawyer went before a federal magistrate who is handing this matter and filed legal papers that would force the insurance company to give the 6,000 dollars to Smith instead of Rudman. That does make a certain amount of sense, since Rudman, the ex-gunman, does owe Smith, the ex-cop, 35,000 dollars. But for some reason this angered the federal magistrate. He griped that Smith's lawyer was just harassing Rudman and his lawyer. So in what seems like an unusual ruling, he told the insurance company to write out a check to him, the magistrate. Then he, the magistrate, could write out a personal check to Rudman, the ex-gunman. And that would settle the affair. The checks could be written at any moment. When the magistrate, James T. Balog, was asked about this check-writing arrangement, he said he could not discuss it since the case is still pending. But if he goes ahead with it, Rudman will get the money. And Smith, the disabled cop, will limp away to a cabin in Tennessee, knowing that all he got was the shaft.
参考译文——司法部门向警察倒打一耙
司法部门向警察倒打一耙
迈克·罗伊克
乔尔·史密斯身体不好，正在考虑退休，住在田纳西州一个安静的小木屋去。可就在几年前，他还是壮壮实实的，热爱自己在芝加哥郊区罗斯蒙特所从事的警察工作。
1979年的一天，他得知有个男子在一幢公寓大楼前开枪。这人刚和他女朋友吵过架，还朝天开了一枪想吓退那些正在劝架的人，随后他就把她拖进了自己的住所。
史密斯和他的同事匆匆赶到那里，敲门要他放了那女的。那人却威胁说，他们要是闯进来，他就把他们的屁股打烂。他们把门踢开后，那人开了两枪。史密斯手上和腿上各挨了一枪。随后那人就放下枪投降了。
他叫克里·拉德曼，33岁，惹是生非已不是第一次了。就在枪击事件发生的那阵子，他还因为抢劫郊区购物中心的一家珠宝店而在候审。
史密斯在医院住了一个星期，又在家休养了6个星期。可是到了1981年，他不得不再次接受手部手术治疗。一个月后，他还中了一次风。医生们说血块可能是枪伤所致。
他的婚姻发生了危机，最终以离婚告终。他认为那也是枪击时间的后果。
拉德曼认了罪，因抢劫和枪击史密斯总共被判处6年徒刑。
但他只服了不到一半的刑期，27个月后就出狱了。那就是说，枪击并可能致残一位警察只服了约一年的刑，抢劫珠宝店也仅服刑一年。
在狱中，拉德曼萌发了求知欲，常去狱中图书馆。他阅读各种法律书籍，接着就对那两个警察向联邦法庭提出了起诉。他声称两人袭击他，他开枪纯属自卫。他们还狠揍了他一顿，把他的一个手指都打断了。他说这是剥夺了他的公民权，为此他要求15万美元的赔偿。
史密斯听说了这一诉讼之后，对拉德曼的厚颜无耻怒不可遏。于是他起诉拉德曼枪击自己。
“我不是为了钱。我只是想一定要让他在民事诉讼案中同样被判有罪。”
陪审团和史密斯的看法相同。后来陪审团判定他应从拉德曼那儿获得3万5千美元赔偿金。可这笔钱史密斯至今连一个子儿都没见着。
原来，罗斯蒙特的保险公司认定，跟拉德曼打民事诉讼官司连诉讼费用都捞不回来。于是保险公司提出给拉德曼6千美元了结此事。他可不是傻瓜，赶紧接受了。没几个人枪伤了警察，还能因此捞进6千美元。史密斯的律师向处理这一案件的联邦法官提交了有关法律文件，强令保险公司将6千美元给史密斯，而不是给拉德曼。这多少还说得过去，因为曾持枪伤人的拉德曼的确欠原来当警察的史密斯3万5千美元。可是，不知由于什么原因，那位联邦法官为此大为恼火。他抱怨说史密斯的律师不过是在骚扰拉德曼及其律师。于是在一项显得非同寻常的裁决中，法官要保险公司开一张支票给他本人，然后他这个联邦法官，再开一张个人支票给曾持枪伤人的拉德曼，这样就能把事情了结了。这两张支票随时都可能开出。当法官詹姆斯·T·巴洛格被问及开支票这一安排时，他表示无可奉告，因为此案尚未判决。可是，如果他果真照此办理，拉德曼便能得到这笔钱。而史密斯，这位被致残的警察，将一瘸一拐地去田纳西州的某个小木屋，明白自己完全是被耍弄了。
Key Words:
retiring [ri'taiəriŋ]
adj. 腼腆的，隐居的，不喜社交的 动词retire的
trial ['traiəl]
adj. 尝试性的; 审讯的
n. 尝试，努力
informed [in'fɔ:md]
adj. 见多识广的 v. 通告，告发 vbl. 通告，
jewelry ['dʒu:əlri]
n. 珠宝，珠宝类
surgery ['sə:dʒəri]
n. 外科，外科手术，诊所
complex ['kɔmpleks]
adj. 复杂的，复合的，合成的
n. 复合体
clot [klɔt]
n. 凝块，血块，一推，一群 n. 笨蛋，傻瓜 v. 凝
stroke [strəuk]
n. 笔画，击打，一笔（画）连续的动作，中风，
partner ['pɑ:tnə]
n. 搭档，伙伴，合伙人
arrangement [ə'reindʒmənt]
n. 安排，商议，整理，布置，商定，[音]改编，改编曲
limp [limp]
n. 跛行
adj. 柔软的，无力的，软弱的
jury ['dʒuəri]
n. 陪审团，评委会
adj. 临时用的
beat [bi:t]
v. 打败，战胜，打，敲打，跳动
n. 敲打，
guilty ['gilti]
adj. 有罪的，内疚的
jewelry ['dʒu:əlri]
n. 珠宝，珠宝类
gall [gɔ:l]
n. 胆囊，胆汁，苦味，厚颜无耻 v. 烦恼，屈辱，磨伤
shaft [ʃɑ:ft]
n. 轴，杆状物，矛，柄，竖井，（一道）光线
unusual [ʌn'ju:ʒuəl]
adj. 不平常的，异常的
check [tʃek]
n. 检查，支票，账单，制止，阻止物，检验标准，方格图案
settle ['setl]
v. 安顿，解决，定居
n. 有背的长凳
insurance [in'ʃuərəns]
n. 保险，保险费，安全措施
magistrate ['mædʒistreit]
n. 地方法官，地方行政官
certain ['sə:tn]
adj. 确定的，必然的，特定的
pron.
legal ['li:gəl]
adj. 法律的，合法的，法定的
参考资料：
- 大学英语精读(第三版) 第三册:Unit1B Justice Gets Its Shot at Policeman(1)_大学教材听力 - 可可英语
- 大学英语精读(第三版) 第三册:Unit1B Justice Gets Its Shot at Policeman(2)_大学教材听力 - 可可英语
大学英语精读(第三版) 第三册:Unit1B Justice Gets Its Shot at Policeman(3)_大学教材听力 - 可可英语
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