又中又英｜Misdemeanor and felony

A Hong Kong friend sent me a WhatsApp picture of a San Francisco street sign outside a Louis Vuitton shop that said stolen goods must remain under $950. It was a fake sign put up by someone as a prank (joke) but it looked authentic (real). My friend believed it because the internet is full of claims that California allows people to steal up to US$950. I saw a Fox News anchor last week interviewing California Governor Gavin Newsom, who is being groomed by the Democratic Party as a future US president.

The word “groom” has many meanings, but if you are being groomed for something, it means you are being prepared for a special job. I am not a fan of Newsom, but I was glad he ran rings around the Fox anchor who was twisting facts to show it is legal in California to steal up to US$950. If you run rings around someone, it means you prove you are better than and superior to the other person. Newsom proved the anchor wrong by explaining the difference between misdemeanor and felony.

A misdemeanor is a minor criminal offence such as shoplifting or possessing a small quantity of drugs punishable by a fine or short-term imprisonment. A felony is a much more serious crime. California voters passed a 2014 referendum so that minor offences such as shoplifting up to US$950 are treated as a misdemeanor. People who ridiculed California need to understand that it is illegal to steal up to US$950 but offenders will face lighter punishment. Places such as Hong Kong and Britain use summary offences and indictable offences for misdemeanor and felony.

一个香港朋友 WhatsApp传了一张图给我，是三藩市路易威登店外一个路牌写着，所有偷窃的物品必须在九百五十美元以下。那是某人放在那儿的一个伪造的路牌，只是个恶作剧（prank），不过看上去颇为真实（authentic）。我朋友信以为真，因为网上人人声称加州容许人偷窃不多于九百五十美元的金额。上星期我见到一个霍士新闻的主播访问加州州长加文‧纽森，他正被民主党培养成（being groomed）未来美国总统的人选。

Groom有许多意思，但如果你是 being groomed for something，意即你正为一个特别的职位作准备。我并非纽森的粉丝，但当那个霍士的主播尝试扭曲事实，说在加州偷窃不多于九百五十美元是合法的时候，我很高兴他能远胜于（ran rings around）那主播。若你 run rings around someone，意即你证明到你比某人更优秀或更出色。纽森解释了 misdemeanor与felony 之间的分野，证明那位主播是错的。

A misdemeanor是轻微的犯罪，例如高买或持有小量毒品，可以用罚款或短期监禁治罪；a felony就是严重的犯罪。加州选民在二零一四年的公投中通过，轻微犯罪例如不多于九百五十美元金额的高买，会被视为轻罪（misdemeanor）。那些嘲讽加州的人需要明白，盗窃九百五十美元以下的物品仍是非法的，只是犯案者所面临的刑罚较轻。像香港和英国等地方，则是用简易程序治罪和可公诉罪行来处理轻罪（misdemeanor）与重罪（felony）。

mickchug@gmail.com
Michael Chugani褚简宁
中译：七刻