又中又英｜Litigious societies

America is one of the world’s most litigious societies. The word “litigious” describes people who are very eager or ready to sue others to try to win money in court judgements. A litigious society is a society where people often sue other people or companies. I still remember reading media articles many years ago about several teenagers who sued a fast-food chain for making them overweight. Some of these teenagers ate fast-food hamburgers and other things daily. One teenager weighed 270 pounds after eating fast food hamburgers daily. The judges in these cases ruled against the teenagers.

I read a media report recently about African elephants in a Colorado zoo that reminded me of America’s litigious society. The news report was sad yet funny. An animal rights group used habeas corpus to force the zoo to free five elderly African elephants and put them in an elephant sanctuary. Habeas corpus is a common law process that allows people who feel they are being illegally detained or jailed to demand their freedom in court. A sanctuary is a place that provides safety and protection.
 
The Colorado Supreme Court ruled 6-0 against the animal rights group, saying the question boiled down to whether an elephant is a person. The expression “boils down to” means the most important reason for something. The court expressed sympathy for the elephants but said an elephant is legally not a person and does not have the legal right to use habeas corpus to be freed. I feel sad for the elephants. They belong in a sanctuary. But I laughed when I read that the animal rights group tried to use habeas corpus to free them.

美国是全世界最爱打官司的社会（litigious societies）之一。Litigious是形容人们非常热衷或准备好要告人，尝试在法庭裁决中获得赔偿。A litigious society是一个社会的人常起诉其他人或公司。我仍然记得许多年前读过的传媒报道，几个年轻人控告快餐连锁店令他们超重。这些年轻人之中，有的是每天都吃快餐店的汉堡包和其他食物。一个年轻人天天吃快餐店的汉堡包后，体重增至270磅。法官最终在这些案件中判年轻人败诉。

我最近读到一则传媒报道，是关于科罗拉多州动物园内的非洲大象，再次令我想到美国真是个爱诉讼的社会（litigious society）。那则新闻报道有点伤感但又很可笑。一个保护动物权益的组织利用人身保护令（habeas corpus），迫令动物园去释放五只年老的非洲象，而安置于一个大象的庇护所（sanctuary）之中。Habeas corpus是一个普通法的程序，当人感到自己是被非法拘留又或囚禁时，可以在法庭寻求自由。A sanctuary是提供安全保护的庇护所。

科州高等法院以六比零裁定动保组织败诉，指出问题可归结为（boiled down to）一只大象可否算为一个人。习语 boils down to是指一件事归根究底的主要原因是什么。法庭表达对大象的同情，但说在法律上，大象不是一个人，因此也没有法律权利透过人身保护令（habeas corpus）去获得释放。我替那些大象感到伤感，牠们应该归宿于庇护所（sanctuary）之中；但当我读到动保组织尝试用人身保护令（habeas corpus）去释放牠们时，又不由得笑了。
 

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