Out There
No Fine for F-word Sign
A federal judge in Tennessee ruled in July that the city of Lakeland cannot fine a homeowner for displaying a profane political sign on her property.
Julie Pereira placed a sign in her yard that read “F*** Em’ Both 2024.” Some of Pereira’s neighbors complained to the city, which issued a warning before citing Pereira for displaying a prohibited sign.
The judge ruled that because the sign was not obscene, the city’s fine was unconstitutional. He ordered the city to pay Pereira’s attorney fees ($31,000) and damages of $1.
Source. newschannel5.com
Did You Know?
Badger State in Top Five
According to Anidjar & Levine, a personal injury firm in Florida, Wisconsin boasts the fifth-fewest workplace accidents in the U.S.
The rankings were based on an analysis of Google search data by state. Terms included in the analysis included “workers comp attorney” and “compensation for injured workers by state.”
Arkansas topped the rankings, with 45.42 average monthly searches per 100,000 residents. Wisconsin’s number was 51.78 searches per 100,000 residents.
Colorado ranked last, with 179.45 monthly searches per 100,000 residents.
Source: Yahoo!News
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On the Radar
Blotted Out of the Book
Under the terms of a legal settlement reached in June, Anthony Borges, a survivor of the Parkland, Fla., school shooting, owns the name of the shooter, Nikolas Cruz.
Borges was one of 17 people injured in the 2018 shooting, in which Cruz killed 17 people using an AR-15-style rifle.
Under the terms of the settlement, Cruz may not give any interviews without Borges’ permission. Cruz must also turn over any money he receives as a beneficiary of a relative’s life insurance policy and must donate his brain for scientific study upon his death.
Cruz is serving 34 consecutive life sentences inside an undisclosed prison.
“We just wanted to shut him down so we never have to hear about him again,” said Alex Arreaza, Borges’ attorney.
Source: AP
By the Numbers
$50 million
– Amount paid by the city of Chicago to four wrongfully convicted men
The city of Chicago has agreed to pay $50 million to four men who were wrongfully convicted of murder in 1995.
The four men – LaShawn Ezell, Charles Johnson, Larod Styles, and Troshawn McCoy – were teenagers when they were convicted. The police coerced the men into making false confessions and inculpatory statements. The police also withheld exculpatory evidence.
In 2009, an analysis of forensic evidence proved that the four were innocent.
The $50 million payment was the largest made by the city of Chicago for wrongful convictions since 2008.
Source: USA Today
On the Radar
Ruling Freezes Wisconsin Payout
Wisconsin will have to wait to receive its share of an $8 billion bankruptcy settlement between 23 states and Purdue Pharma.
Under the settlement, the Sackler family, who own Purdue Pharma, would have paid most of the $8 billion. The settlement included a bankruptcy provision that would have protected members of the Sackler family from personal liability.
But in June, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that the Bankruptcy Code does not authorize a bankruptcy court to block lawsuits against a party who hasn’t filed for bankruptcy.
Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul estimated Wisconsin’s share of the settlement at about $70 million.
Source: WPR
» Cite this article: 97 Wis. Law. 9 (September 2024).
