A Whiff and a Prayer (originally aired October 18, 2005)
Alan defends Catherine Piper from murder charges. Denny, Shirley and Denise represent a congressman being sued by a donor whose nephew was killed in a crime committed with an assault weapon.
- Lawsuit against Congressman. This lawsuit probably should have not reached a jury and probably should have been dismissed based on motions before anyone ever took a witness stand or testified. The key elements of the lawsuit here seem to be that (a) the Congressman committed a negligent act by not banning assault weapons, (b) that the Congressman's act was the proximate cause of the death of an individual (more or less, that the Congressman's act so directly caused the death that it could be considered legally responsible), (c) that the donor had standing to bring a lawsuit on behalf of that individual, and (d) that the Congressman did not have immunity for his act.
First and foremost, a court probably could and should rule that there is no way that the Congressman's act could be considered the proximate cause of a death when the illegal act of a criminal some time afterwards and in a different location is more properly seen as the proximate cause. After all, if this Congressman could get sued for this act, why not everyone in Congress? Why not President George W. Bush? Somewhat similarly, a federal district court dismissed the first highly publicized obesity lawsuit against McDonald's in January 2003, saying in part that no reasonable jury could find that McDonald's was legally responsible for causing the individual plaintiffs' obesity "without resorting to 'wild speculation.'"
Moreover, Denny, Shirley and Denise probably should look into whether the donor has standing to bring the lawsuit. The parents or immediate survivors of a deceased person are the ones who generally have the right to bring a lawsuit based on that person's behalf; courts can dismiss lawsuits when they are brought by people without sufficient closeness to the case. Why should this uncle be allowed to seek damages for this death if the people most affected by it do not want to sue?
- Assault-Weapons Ban. A 10-year ban on the possession, transfer and manufacturing of some semiautomatic assault weapons expired after September 13, 2004. The ban was part of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 (PL 103-322) and was intended to help reduce violent and drug-trafficking crime.
Some studies conducted during the Clinton administration found that the ban may have reduced the criminal use of such guns. "The assault weapons ban has helped to reduce the number of murders committed with these weapons, especially murders of law enforcement officers," President Bill Clinton said in a 1999 statement (on-line here). Others criticized the law as ineffective; the National Rifle Association hailed the ban's expiration, saying that the "this misguided law, which had no effect on the actions of criminals, but penalized law-abiding citizens, was built on a campaign of lies" (statement on-line here).
White House spokesman Scott McClellan said in response to questions on September 13, 2004 (transcript on-line here) that President George W. Bush had supported reauthorization of the ban but "does not set the legislative timetable" and that "Congressional leaders have stated that it's not going to come up for a vote." When asked if Bush had ever mentioned the ban in a speech or called any member of Congress to get reauthorization, McClellan said that "this President has led when it comes to combating violence committed with guns." McClellan did not answer a question as to whether the ban was effective.
- Self-Defense. Under Massachusetts law, when a self-defense claim is made, the burden is on the prosecution to prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the defendant (1) did not have reasonable grounds to believe and did not actually believe that she was in imminent danger of death or serious bodily harm from which he could only save himself by using deadly force, (2) had not availed himself of all proper means to avoid physical combat before resorting to the use of deadly force, and (3) had used more force that was reasonable necessary given all the circumstances of the case. Catherine could have cut ties with Bernard and sought more non-violent means of protecting herself, but the jury apparently decided that the prosecution had not met its burden.
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By Stephen Lee
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