Boys will be Boys -- W. Virginia edition

This is a story that at one time might have elicited the comment, "Only in Texas..."

Except that it didn't happen at A&M as one might have expected... it happened at Marshall University, Chief Justice John Marshall's namesake college in Huntington, West Virginia.

These are perhaps our next generation of physicians, cancer researchers and educators. Marshall is alma mater to Soupy Sales and Billy Crystal, so maybe these fellows are striving for a career in show business instead. They seem to have the act down.

"Louis Helmburg III sued The Alpha Tau Omega Fraternity Inc., of Huntington, West Virginia, and Travis Hughes, a fraternity member, in Cabell County Court.

Helmburg claims - in a statement it would be difficult to deny - that 'firing bottle rockets out of one's own anus constitutes an 'ultra-hazardous' activity,' which exposes both defendants to strict liability."

You just know that when the plaintiff and defense attornies get together for a drink over at "the Whale" after business hours, that they laugh hilariously over cases just such as this one.

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Fighting SLAPP lawsuits

Although specifically about SLAPP threats and their onerous effects on First Amendment protections, this article illustrates some other interesting topics. Notably that the State of Maine, by licensing naturopathy, recognizes the quackery as a medical profession.

They succeed because most defendants don’t understand their First Amendment rights. They succeed because most defendants don’t know a First Amendment lawyer. They succeed because most defendants don’t have the money to fund a lawsuit. They succeed because many jurisdictions don’t have an effective anti-SLAPP statute. They succeed because many lawyers who care about the First Amendment aren’t in the position to do pro bono work, or worry that they don’t know the issues well enough or that it will take too much time. They succeed because the American legal system is, for the most part, set up to make it easy for plaintiffs to extort defendants without significant risk.

As the author notes, there are organized efforts afoot to reform the law and put into place some individual protections for SLAPP victims, and others offering direct aid to the victims. 

Read the full article here... and get involved. The next target of an unfair lawsuit could be you.

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