changed between his booking and arrival, owing to the presence of white American servicemen. The defence argued that they had met their contract by accommodating Constantine in another hotel and that he had left the Imperial voluntarily. The managing director of the hotel denied that racist language had been used. After two days of evidence, the judge found in Constantine's favour, rejecting the defence's arguments and praising the way Constantine had handled the situation. Although the law limited the award of damages against the hotel to five guineas, Constantine was vindicated. He did not pursue the case any further as he believed he had sufficiently raised the issue of racism in the public eye; the case was widely reported in the press, and Constantine received great support from both the public and the government. Although racial discrimination continued to persist in Britain, this case was the first to challenge such practices in court. Critics regard it as a milestone in British racial equality in demonstrating that black people had legal recourse against some forms of racism. According to Mason, it "was one of the key milestones along the road to the creation of the Race Relations Act of 1965." Legal studies While living and playing cricket in Nelson before the war, Constantine had made plans for a future legal career. James helped him with his studies for a short time, and he later worked in a local solicitors' office. In 1944 he enrolled as a student in the Middle Temple, London. To finance his studies, he continued his professional cricket career in Bradford until 1948, and supplemented his income by coaching: at Trinity College, Dublin, in 1947 and in Ceylon in 1953. Constantine also extended his work in journalism and broadcasting, as a cricket reporter and as a radio commentator when the West Indies toured England in 1950. He also wrote several cricket books, probably with the help of a ghostwriter. Cricket in the Sun (1947) covered his career but also discussed the racism he had encountered and suggested then-radical ideas for the future of cricket, such as a one-day "world cup". Cricketers' Carnival (1948), Cricket Crackers, Cricketers' Cricket (both 1949) and How To Play Cricket (1951) were more traditional cricket books, which included coaching tips and opinions. In 1947 Constantine became chairman of the League of Coloured Peoples, a position he held until the League was discontinued in 1951.