In the amusing legalese department, we have a libel suit that was thrown out of court. What was the alleged libel? you ask. Well it seems that someone called some city council candidates "dumbasses"; one was a "dead beat dad"; and my personal favorite, "bankrupt, drunk and chewin tobaccy."
Choice quotes from the decision:
{...}``The statement that the plaintiff is a `Dumb Ass,' even first among `Dumb Asses,' communicates no factual proposition susceptible of proof or refutation.''{...}``denied being an alcoholic, but not that he consumed alcohol to the point of inebriation. . . . Similarly, he used only the present tense in denying that he chewed tobacco; for all the record shows, he might have chewed it in the very recent past, and might intend to chew it again in the future.''
The judges also said no one could determine with provable authority who was a dumb ass and who wasn't. ``To call a man `dumb' often means no more than to call him a `fool,' '' the opinion reads. ``One man's fool may be another's savant. Indeed, a corollary of Lincoln's famous aphorism is that every person is a fool some of the time.''{...}
Snicker.
Hat Tip: Tech Dirt, which is a blog you really should be reading every day.
Posted by Kathy at April 1, 2005 11:22 AM