May 2011 - Jefferson County Public Schools

1925 Gitlow v. New York
Though upholding the defendant's conviction for distributing his call to overthrow the government, the Court held, for
the first time, that the Fourteenth Amendment "incorporates" the free speech clause of the First Amendment and is,
therefore, applicable to the states.
Beer Commercial Promises Women, Doesn't Deliver
It would take a lot of beer to believe this guy's story. In 1991 Richard Overton actually tried to sue Anheuser-Busch for
$10,000 because upon drinking copious amounts of Bud Light, beautiful women didn't come to life in a tropical setting,
as shown in the commercials.
Do Beautiful Women Really Come to Life When You Drink Bud Light?
1991, Richard Overton sued Anheuser-Busch for false and misleading advertising under Michigan State law. The
complaint specifically referenced ads involving, among other things, fantasies of beautiful women in tropical settings that
came to life for two men driving a Bud Light truck. In addition to two claims of false advertising, Mr. Overton included a
third claim in his complaint in which he claimed to have suffered emotional distress, mental injury, and financial loss in
excess of $10,0000 due to the misleading Bud Light ads.
1971 United States v. Vuitch
The ACLU's general counsel, Norman Dorsen, argued this case -- the first about abortion to reach the Supreme Court. In
United States v. Vuitch, a doctor challenged the constitutionality of a District of Columbia law permitting abortion only to
preserve a woman's life or health. The Court rejected the claim that the statute was unconstitutionally vague, concluding
that "health" should be understood to include considerations of psychological as well as physical well-being. The Court
also held that the burden of proof should be on the prosecutor who brought charges, not on the doctor.
If You Can’t Sue the System, Sue Yourself
1995, Robert Lee Brock sued himself for $5 million. He claimed that he had violated his own civil rights and religious
beliefs by allowing himself to get drunk and commit crimes which landed him in the Indian Creek Correctional Center in
Virginia, serving a 23 year sentence for grand larceny and breaking and entering. What could he possibly have to gain by
suing himself you may ask? Since being in prison prevented him from having an income, he expected the state to pay.
This case was thrown out.
Criminals Can’t Blame Hollywood
1996, the family of Patsy Ann Byers sued Oliver Stone, Warner Brother, and others involved in the making and
distribution of the movie Natural Born Killers for an unspecified amount. They claimed that the movie caused Sarah
Edmondson and Benjamin Darrus to go on a crime spree which resulted in Edmonson shooting Byers during a robbery,
leaving her paralyzed from the chest down. The lawsuit was originally filed in 1995, against Edmonson and Darrus, the
actual perpetrators of the crime spree. Stone and the others involved with the film were added in 1996. The portion of the
case aimed at Stone and his associates was dismissed in 2001.
1992 Lee v. Weisman
The Court ruled that any officially-sanctioned prayer at public school graduation ceremonies violates the Establishment
Clause