Free Essay

Law Paper

In:

Submitted By tayydonovan
Words 1808
Pages 8
Good Afternoon,
Upon reading your story and going over what happened, with my extent knowledge in media law I have come to the conclusion that you will run into some legal troubles. You are looking at a defamation lawsuit. Firstly, I think it is important to understand what exactly that is, some possible defense options and as well as ways to avoid a lawsuit like this in the future.
Understanding Defamation: According to Canadian law defamation can take two forms, slander and libel. Slander is defined as the defamation of a person, group, organization, product, government or country that was in the form on spoken words, sounds, sign language, or gestures. Libel is the same thing but the defamatory statement was made in written or printed words or in pictures. You are currently dealing with a defamation case in the form of libel. In legal terms; "The publication of any false imputation concerning a person, or a member of his family, whether living or dead, by which (a) the reputation of that person is likely to be injured or (b) he is likely to be injured in his profession or trade or (c) other persons are likely to be induced to shun, avoid, ridicule or despise him. (White, A Primer on the Law of Defamation in Ontario)
Basically Peter Reid Graham has the ability to sue for defamation because the statement referring to the pedophilia was a false statement made as if they were true and referring to him. The information may have been factual but the implications were that the man in the picture (Peter Reid Graham) was the one being accused, which is false. In addition it caused damages to this mans reputation (the damage does not need to be proven) The victim will just have to state that he is being accused of a crime he did not commit. Now his name was not used but his picture was which still falls under the category of libel defamation. “The plaintiff must be able to prove that the words identify him as the person defamed. It is not necessary that he should have been specifically named.” (White, A Primer on the Law of Defamation in Ontario) If he can show the court that a reasonable person would take the words to refer to him, he will probably have a good case. He needs to be able to prove publication which in legal terms means that the words or pictures must have been heard or seen by a third person. “The first person is the one talking or writing (you), the second person is the person being talked or written about (the plaintiff), the third person is anyone else who may hear or read the offending matter” (White, A Primer on the Law of Defamation in Ontario) In your case since it was a newspaper, there is no difficulty in proving this; the contents of the paper are published to everyone who receives a copy.
To summarize; defamation is to spread bad reports about someone which could cause them harm. (White, A Primer on the Law of Defamation in Ontario) If Peter Graham Reid can prove that the words and pictures had a defamatory meaning, identified him (through the picture he was identified) and was published (which it was) that is defamation. In regards to retrieving this information from an unidentified website, that was not published in the article really makes no difference.
In the future as a publisher there are ways to avoid defamation and these guidelines should be followed when publishing stories similar to this. The guidelines are as follows: The guidelines are enumerated in the following list: Borden Ladner Gervais LLP Lawyers • Patent & Trade-mark Agents www.blgcanada.com Legal Affairs: Avoiding Defamation Suits Can Be a Tricky Business By David A. Crerar 3 (Risks Associated With Publication)
(1) The seriousness of the allegation: the more serious the charge, the more the public is misinformed and the individual harmed if the allegation is false.
(2) Relevance: The nature of the information, and the extent to which the subject matter is a matter of public concern.
(3) The source of the information: reliance on hostile, biased, interested or ignorant sources can misinform the public. *** ( The website used should have been verified)
(4) Due diligence: Did the media outlet try to verify the controversial information in the story. (referring to website, further research should have been conducted)
(5) The status of the information: the allegation may have already been subject of an investigation which commands respect.
(6) The urgency: How important is it to communicate the information as quickly as possible?
(7) Seeking balance: Whether comment was sought from the plaintiff, although this may be unnecessary, impractical, or obviously futile.
(8) Reflecting balance: Whether the story contained the plaintiff’s side of the story.
(9) The tone of the story: A publication or broadcast outlet can raise queries or call for an investigation without adopting allegations as statements of fact.
(10) The overall circumstances of the story, including the timing of publication.
Several judges have cited the case’s factors. The guidelines were found in Defamation Suits Can Be a Tricky Business By David A. Crerar
Now in regards to dealing with a a libel defamation case, there are defences you can take and they are as follows; (White, A Primer on the Law of Defamation in Ontario)
a) Truth: The first defense is the defense of truth, meaning that if a statement made is attacked as being defamatory, the defence can be made that the statement was truthful and therefore there was nothing false about the statement, meaning therefore, that the statement was not defamatory. (White, A Primer on the Law of Defamation in Ontario)
b) Fair Comment: The second defense to an allegation of libellous statement is that the statements made were made as a fair comment. The defence of fair comment would be considered by the Court in situations where, by looking at the statement made, the facts and the situation, a conclusion can be made that the statements made were in actuality a fair commentary on the situation at hand and that the comments were fair and were not malicious. (White, A Primer on the Law of Defamation in Ontario)

c) Qualified Privilege: The defence of qualified privilege arises normally in situations where based on public policy, even where a person makes a statement that is considered defamatory, the individual, corporation or organization publishing these statements will escape any liability if it can be proven that the public good could be furthered in open debate. (White, A Primer on the Law of Defamation in Ontario)
d) Absolute Privilege: Situations where the defence of absolute privilege would apply would be comments made by civil servants, members of parliament, members of provincial parliament, federal government, ministers and the like who make comments that may be defamatory, but were made in the furtherance of investigations, fact finding missions, and reporting for the benefit of public policy. (White, A Primer on the Law of Defamation in Ontario)
e) Honest opinion: The statement was a viewpoint that was believed to be true based on evidence found in support of it. (White, A Primer on the Law of Defamation in Ontario)
f) Innocent dissemination: The statement was distributed without the knowledge that it was defamatory in nature as the person was not the originator of the content and had no editorial control over it. Innocent Dissemination is a defense available to a person charged for publishing a defamatory statement. The defense of innocent dissemination absolves a person from liability provided, s/he had no knowledge of the defamatory nature of the statement, and that his/her failure to detect the defamatory content was not due to negligence. (White, A Primer on the Law of Defamation in Ontario)

The defense involves three factors:
1. The defendant did not know that the publication complained of contained a libel;
2. The defendant had no grounds to suppose that it was likely to contain defamatory matter; and
3. The absence of knowledge was not due to any negligence on the defendant's part.. (Innocent Dissemination law and legal definition)
In your position I believe that Innocent dissemination would be a wise defense to take seeing that you can say that you were under the impression that the information being published was factual and the picture in fact was the man accused of the crime. The website publishes pedophiles in which you believed the picture was of the correct man. You had no malicious intent and it was simply a printing error. Similar to the Hunter and Swift v. Fotheringham et al (1986) 360 (B.C.S.C). case you have non consenual information that was published about someone else. Fotheringham wrote that Swift and Hunter, who he said were rising in the pecking order of Vancouver law firms, had been "cementing their connections through the lawn– tennis circuits and wife–swapping brigades.” Fotheringham later apologized for the remarks and said during the trial that the column was humorous and was not intended to defame Swift and Hunter. Peter Butler, lawyer for Swift and Hunter, argued during the trial that the column was defamatory because it suggested his clients were wife-swappers or associated with wifeswappers in which the two men later made clear that those remarks were compeltely untrue. They were unaware of this publication and there was no permission given to the paper to publish this sort of information, especially with no evidence. Similar to this case another suggestion to dealing with this issue would be to make amends. Generally a defamation suit will result in monetary damages or an injunction preventing any publication of material that will further damage the person’s reputation. (White, A Primer on the Law of Defamation in Ontario) However, a majority of cases are settled before a court trial through an offer to make amends. Making amends generally involves retracting the defamatory material by removing it, correcting it or by making a formal apology. In some instances an offer of money may also be made. A defamed person must carefully consider an offer to make amends as if the case goes to trial and the judge finds that the offer was a reasonable one, it can be used as a partial defence to the defamation action. (White, A Primer on the Law of Defamation in Ontario)

References:
Web. 4 Mar. 2015. .

"Cyber Libel and Canadian CourtsCanadian Internet Defamation Rulings." McConchie Law. Web. 4 Mar. 2015. .

"Defamation." Duhaime.org. Web. 4 Mar. 2015. .

"Innocent Dissemination Law & Legal Definition." Innocent Dissemination Law & Legal Definition. Web. 4 Mar. 2015. .

"Risks Associated With Publication." Risks Associated With Publication. Web. 4 Mar. 2015. .

White, Suzanne. "A. INTRODUCTION." A Primer on the Law of Defamation in Ontario. 27 Sept. 2007. Web. 4 Mar. 2015. .

Similar Documents

Free Essay

Law Papers

...fo"k; :- Contract – I izFke o"kZ 2015-16 uksV%& fuEufyf[kr iz’u dsoy vuqeku gS bu ij iw.kZr% fuHkZj ugh jgsaA iz’u 1- ^^lHkh lafonk,a djkj gksrh gS ysfdu lHkh djkj lafonk ugha gksrs gSaA^^ D;k vki blls lger gSa \ fu.khZr oknksa dh lgk;rk ls Li"V dhft;sA Q.-1 All contracts are agreements but all agreements are not contracts .Do you agree, Explain with the help of decided cases. iz’u 2- izfrQy dh ifjHkk"kk nhft;s rFkk blds viokn Hkh crkb;sA Q.- 2 Define Consideration and mention exceptions of the Consideration. iz’u 3- izLrko ds fy, Lohd`fr dk ogh egRo gS tks ck:n ls Hkjh xkM+h ds fy, ekfpl dh ,d tyrh gqbZ rhyh dk gS & ,Ulu Q.- 3 “Acceptance is to an offer what a lighted match is to a train of gunpowder.” – Anson. iz’u 4- Mkd o VsyhQksu }kjk lafonk ds fuekZ.k lEcU/kh fu;eksa dk o.kZu dhft,A Q.- 4 Explain the rules relating to formation of contract by post and telephone. iz’u 5- O;kikj vojks/kh djkj 'kwU; gksrs gS \ vioknksa lfgr bldk o.kZu dhft;sA Q.- 5 Agreements in restraint of trade are void. Discuss it with exception. iz’u 6- ckth djkj o lekfJr djkj esa vUrj dhft;s rFkk mudh ifjHkk"kk Hkh nhft;sA Q.- 6 Explain the difference between wagering agreement and contingement agreement and define the both also. iz’u 7- mu vk/kkjksa dk mYys[k dhft;s] ftuds vk/kkj ij ,d djkj o lafonk foQy ;k uSjk’; ¼QzLVªsVsM½ gks tkrh gSA Q.- 7 Explain the grounds on which a agreement and contract becomes frustrated. iz’u 8- ,d djkj esa ekufld lgefr vko’;d gSA foospuk...

Words: 16472 - Pages: 66

Premium Essay

Law Paper

...Marbury v. Madison 5 U.S. 137 (1803) Facts: Thomas Jefferson won the 1800 presidential election against John Adams. However, because he[Jefferson] did not take office until March 4th, 1801, President John Adams appointed Federalist judges and justices of the peace, called “Midnight Judges” to the court, one of which included William Marbury. Although these appointments were approved by the Senate, the commissions for some of these appointments were not delivered on time. Thus, the new president, Thomas Jefferson, declared the remaining appointments void. Constitutional Question: Is Marbury entitled to his commission? If he has a right to his commission, and that right has been violated, does the law of the country allow a remedy to Marbury? Is the Supreme Court the legal place for Marbury to ask for the aforementioned remedy? Answer: Yes, yes, and it depends. Justice John Marshall Delivered the Opinion of the Court The President of the United States appointed Mr. Marbury a justice of peace, and that the seal and signature by the Secretary of State signifies the completion of the appointment. Therefore, Marbury has legal right to the office. Marbury has a legal right to the commission which was not delivered to him. Therefore, his right to the office and commission was violated, and the country must allow him a remedy to correct this. Since Marbury is entitled to the remedy, the question would remain of whether or not a writ of mandamus (judicial method in which...

Words: 704 - Pages: 3

Free Essay

Rule of Law Paper

...Rule of Law Paper Currently computer use has become a day-to-day activity for students, professionals, universities, teachers, bankers, in entertainment, in medical business, and in organizations. As any other mechanism, the computer has two ways of operation. One use is good and essential, while the other is bad and unnecessary. Whenever a new machine is invented, many people use it for the wrong purpose unintentionally and so to make them conscious of their wrong use and to make them use the machine for its appropriate uses, laws are formulated and implemented. For the computer, cyber law was implemented to regulate cybercrime and inform people on the different types of computer uses that are viewed as legal and as crimes. One of the most commonly violated cyber law is the United States anti- cyber-stalking law, which is found at section 223 of the United States constitution stipulated for the cyberstalking crime. The anti-cyber-stalking law according to Hitchcock (2006) defines a cyber stalker as a person who intentionally, cruelly, and continuously harasses another person through the internet with the intention to make the person fear for his or her safety or the safety of other people who are closely connected to the victim. Additionally, a cyberstalker maybe an online stranger or a person known to the victim and may involve other people online who are not in any way connected to the victim. Lawfully, cyberstalking is considered as a criminal offense that is moderated through...

Words: 681 - Pages: 3

Free Essay

Law Paper

...credit or charge card or information contained on or for use with the card, or (H) as winnings in a lottery or other game of chance operated or sponsored by a State, governmental unit of a State, or person licensed or authorized to operate the game by a State or governmental unit of a State or (ii) any credit device account. The term includes health-care-insurance receivables. The term does not include (i) rights to payment evidenced by chattel paper or an instrument, (ii) commercial tort claims, (iii) deposit accounts, (iv) investment property, (v) letter-of-credit rights or letters of credit, or (vi) rights to payment for money or funds advanced or sold, other than rights arising out of (A) the use of a credit or charge card or information contained on or for use with the card or (B) a credit device account. Account debtor: a person obligated on an account, chattel paper, or general intangible. The term does not include persons obligated to pay a negotiable instrument, even if the instrument constitutes part of chattel paper. Accounting: a record (A) authenticated by a secured party; (B) indicating the aggregate unpaid secured obligations as of a date not more than 35 days earlier or 35 days later than the...

Words: 7135 - Pages: 29

Free Essay

Paper on Corporate Law

...Call for Papers on “Corporate Law: Contemporary Issues & Challenges” Posted on February 1, 2015 by LexQuest The Law Mantra Law journal (ISSN 2321 6417) is a monthly academic journal, published online, that seeks to provide an interactive forum for the publication of articles in the field of Law. The Journal is currently soliciting submissions for Volume 2, Issue 4, which will be published in March 2015. The submission deadline for Volume 2, Issue 4 is March 30, 2015. We welcome submissions from academicians, practitioners, students, researchers and experts from within the legal community. We have a strong preference for articles that assert and defend a well-reasoned position. Law Mantra is an Online Journal and Web Portal, under the Chief patron of Dr. Hon. Justice Malimath, former Chief Justice Karnataka and Kerala High Court, Prof. (Dr.) M.P.Singh, Chancellor Central University, Haryana, Prof. (Dr.) Gurjeet Singh, Founder Vice-Chancellor N.L.U.J.A Assam, Prof. (Dr.) Faizan Mustaffa, V.C NALSAR Hyderabad, Prof. Shamnad Basheer and other luminaries from the legal fraternity. It is aimed at institutionalizing and channelling the analytical and incisive articles of students towards value addition and developing inherent potentials of legal fraternity. The Themes for Call for Paper is “Corporate Law: Contemporary Issues & Challenges” Write us journal@lawmantra.co.in or editor@lawmantra.co.in About The Competition: The competition basically has the purpose to bring...

Words: 1017 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Labor and Laws Paper

...Labor Laws and Unions Paper Patricia Baskerville HRM/531 February 27, 2012 Professor Brian Frank Labor Laws and Unions Paper Unionization plays a critical role in protecting the rights of the employees within the workplace. In today’s economy, very few industries have unions such as manufacturing, education and healthcare. In this article, Ford Motor Company, an automobile industry has a large union mainly because of the size of the company. This article will discuss Ford’s motor company background, and its legal issues or obstacles the organization may encounter. In addition, this article will discuss Ford’s legal issues violation and possible recommendations to minimize litigation. Following, this article will discuss Ford’s benefit of joining a union and the process the organization took toward unionization, and the method the union uses to bargain. In closing, this article will discuss the effects union bargaining has on Ford Motor Company. Furthermore, Ford Motor Company union assisted with its operational processes by increasing its performance and production level. Background Henry Ford, the founder of Ford’s Motor Company developed this organization in 1903. Henry Ford’s objective was to create a company that is the leading automotive manufacturing company throughout the world. Ford Motor Company produces cars, trucks, commercial trucks, and replacement automobile parts. Ford Motor Company employs over 200,000 people including 170,000 employees and 40,000 United...

Words: 1315 - Pages: 6

Free Essay

Law Paper

...Introduction The flaw of the law is very common in Bangladesh. In fact there is no flaw of any laws, but the way you use it. Here the proper word can be used as abusing laws. People misuse the law for their own benefit. But the consequence of abusing or misusing law is very dangerous. It is not only a common practice in Bangladesh but also in other developed countries. But the scenario we have here is much more threatening as well as immoral in our society. Actually what we do by misusing law, we do not care about the consequences. If we take a closer look to our society, we will find that there are many areas where the violations of law are very common. Misinterpretation of different sections is also available and which mainly leads to the flaw of law. By doing this the rate of corruption goes up. This law loop hole creates section violations, bribery, custodial death and others. The topic talks about a vast area which simply cannot be discussed easily. There are many problems that we have in our society. Here I have narrowed down the topic and will discuss about Section 54, 167 and 61 of Code of Criminal Procedure 1898. All these sections talks about arrest without warrant and detention rules. In our country, these sections are misinterpreted randomly and as a result it violates sections and makes way for corruptions. Actually political and some muscle man of our society does these unlawful things in the name of law to eliminate their obstacles legally. There...

Words: 2132 - Pages: 9

Premium Essay

Law Paper

...Business and Society Law David White LAW/421 May 14, 2013 Page Beetem Business and Society Law In looking at the role of law in business and society, it is helpful to first understand the definition of Law and how that definition is applied in the business environment. Law of some variety has been a part of society since the time of the most primitive societies. Initially, the primary purpose of the law was to keep the peace, but as society became more complex and developed, the law took on additional functions. Today, at least eight major functions of law can be identified: (1) to keep the peace, (2) to influence and enforce standards of conduct, (3) to maintain the status quo in certain aspects of society, (4) to facilitate orderly change, (5) to allow for maximum self-assertion by the individual, (6) to facilitate planning and the realization of reasonable expectations, (7) to promote social justice, and (8) to provide a mechanism for compromise solutions between polar principles and positions. (World Academy Online, 2012) Commercial law, also known as business law, is the body of law that applies to the rights, relations, and conduct of persons and businesses engaged in commerce, merchandising, trade, and sales. It is often considered to be a branch of civil law and deals with issues of both private law and public law. Some general concepts of business law include malpractice, fraud deterrence, financial regulation, international trade law, employment issues,...

Words: 863 - Pages: 4

Free Essay

Conflict of Laws Paper

...Traditional Approaches to Horizontal Choice of Law (introduction/Class 1 = Keeton v Hustler) Keeton v Hustler Discusses procedural v substantive inquiry Mentions 5 CoL considerations: predictability; relationships among the states; simplification; forum interests; sounder rule approach I. What are we looking for in a CoL system? Examples a. Predictability [for litigants] b. Uniformity c. Ease of application d. Respect for state sovereignty (vested rights largely looks to this) e. Respect for state policy f. Justice for parties g. Party expectations h. Better law II. Domicile a. Def: includes mutual obligation between state and individual b. State of domicile at death is controlling law i. Standard: Mined + left behind → 1. Abandoned (physical travel to new domicile) + manifested intent to remain 2. Note: objective + subjective elements c. Test established in White v Tennant (WV 1888) i. Family farm extends over WV/PA borders; husband went to WV on same property to care for wife, planned on going back on the same day ii. H: PA law controls iii. Note: siblings still live in WV, may be favoring forum even though the court doesn’t seem to be….still is room to play d. Test maintained in Maksym v Board of Election Comm’rs of City of Chicago (BB…Rahm Emanuel Case) i. *Once a domicile is established, presumption that you retain it until you create a new domicile ii. Rejects interpretation of “actually lived” iii. Intent is unclear (including...

Words: 5639 - Pages: 23

Premium Essay

Law Paper

...Sheila Wilkinson LAW/421 The three classifications of law are; criminal and civil law criminal law is where public commitment of crimes is prosecuted by the governing bodies. Civil law is where a private party may have a lawsuit against another person for a crime which may have been committed. Substantive and Procedural Law-substantive law is the rights and duties of the people procedural law defines how the courts handle’s try and sentence a case. Public and Private Law-public law is define as the relationship between the government and the individuals and private law is how the individual or groups act with each other. Bushman, M. (2007). Law plays an important role in business and society it is a set of rules that is in place to help society and business function. When an individual has a dispute they are able to bring their dispute to the court of law and have them settle the dispute for them. Other functions of law include: peacekeeping; checking government power and promoting personal freedom; facilitating planning and the realization of reasonable expectations; promoting economic growth through free competition; promoting social justice; and protecting the environment (Mallor, Barnes, Bowers, and Langvardt). Business has and ethical duties to perform in a professional manner if they do not adhere to the law they can be subject to criminal charges are fines. I am employed at Tulane Hospital and Clinic; we have an ethical duty by law to provide quality...

Words: 642 - Pages: 3

Free Essay

Law and Ethics Paper

...Law Case Analysis According to the law case EEOC v. FREEMAN, the EEOC filed a law suit against Freeman and alleged the company’s hiring policy which includes criminal background and credit history checks, has a disparate impact on African-American, Hispanic, and male applicants. And the material fact of this case is whether Defendant’s hiring criteria of conducting criminal background and credit history checks is consistent with business necessity. Since the Defendant was charged by the EEOC with unlawful discrimination in this case, the source of law is the Title VII of Civil Rights Act of 1964. “Title VII prohibits discrimination in hiring, firing, trainings, promotion, discipline, or other workplace decisions on the basis of an employee or applicant’s race, color, gender, national origin, or religion” (Bennett- Alexander & Hartman, 2011). As a federal law enforcement agency, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has obligations to investigate violations of Title VII and enforce laws against discrimination in workplace. In addition to the EEOC’s unique role, Title VII requires federal district courts to take the Title VII discrimination case for judicial review only after the EEOC has first disposed of the claim (Bennett- Alexander & Hartman, 2011). And according to the case, since the EEOC accepted applicant Katrina Vaughn’s discrimination complaint about Defendant’s violation of Title VII by rejecting hiring her based on her credit history information, the...

Words: 1296 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

Law Compliance Paper

...MEMORANDUM TO: Bradley Stonefield FROM: Atwood and Allen Consulting DATE: April 13, 2015 SUBJECT: Employment Law Compliance Plan CC: Traci Goldeman, Manager In regards to your interest in opening the limousine service, Landslide Limousines, we would first like to address employment laws. Each state has their own set of laws aside from federal laws that have been put in place and it is important to be aware of them in a business venture. The employment laws dictate and lead employers on how they’re permitted to treat their employees. Both state and federal employment law make certain that the rights of the employees remain protected. The following are the some national employment laws, as well as specific Texas laws we found relevant to your business that must be followed: * The Civil Right Act of 1964 * The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 * The Family Medical Leave Act of 1993 * The Texas Minimum Wage Law Employment Laws The Civil Rights Act of 1964- Title VII In cases of racial discrimination where the employer is found guilty he or she is responsible for providing punitive damages as punishment for their conduct. The plaintiff will also receive a compensatory damages from the employer as reimbursement for injuries and/or harm. (Cascio, 2015) The plaintiff is also eligible for two years back pay of filling charges if employment was attained then with employer. To avoid civil right suits under title vii it is important that when interacting...

Words: 1610 - Pages: 7

Premium Essay

Law Opinion Paper

...Law Opinion Paper Introduction to Criminal Court System CJS/220 Instructor: XXXXXXXX Law Opinion Paper: The relationship between the common law and the legislature. The American common law system had originally been mirrored from medieval England, when criminals and civil laws were decided by judges based according to biblical prophecies as well as where they presided from. Now laws are created, enforced and micromanaged by three legislative branches of government. The reasoning for each branch having specific responsibilities is so that no one branch is able to corrupt the “checks and balances” system that was based according to the principals written in The United States Constitution and other important legal documents. The Legal System The United States government is overseen and governed by laws that were created by public officials. There are three branches of government: * The Legislative Branch of government (state or federal) enacts a group laws that are enacted by public officials. * Once the laws are enacted then they are enforced by The Executive Branch which controls the law enforcement agencies. * The Judicial Branch makes sure that those enacted laws serves a balanced purpose and are legally as well as ethically fair to all in serving their purpose. The American legal system today was conceived based from two major concepts that originally came from the medieval England’s common laws: Precedent and Codification...

Words: 1067 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Tort Law Paper

...Briana Lyles Torts and Product Liability 11/22/2011 University of Maryland – University College AMBA 610 – Section 9040 Dr. Kathleen Locklear Introduction This paper will discuss two types of law and how they apply to two separate lawsuits. According to The Legal Environment of Business: A Critical Approach by Kubasek, Brennan, and Browne, Tort law is defined as “an injury to another’s person or property.” Tort Law has many goals that are in place to assist injured person through monetary compensation and even mental compensation. Additional goals of Tort Law are to discourage private retaliation, promote civility, and deter wrongful actions (Kubasek et al., 2009). Tort Law also tries to ensure that the plaintiff receives compensation for damages. Another type of law explained in The Legal Environment of Business: A Critical Approach is Product and Service Liability Law, which was evolved from Tort Law. Manufacturers of products and givers of service owe a level of responsibility to the consumers of their product or service. The liability laws hold manufacturers accountable if the consumers are somehow unable to use their product without it causing harm to them. The cases discussed in this paper involve Tort Law violations as well as Product and Service Liability law violations on the part of the defendant in both cases. The Facts A CAT scan was performed on Judith Haimes by Dr. Judith Hart, a physician who works at Temple University. Before the CAT scan was performed...

Words: 2966 - Pages: 12

Premium Essay

Criminal Law Paper

...RUNNING HEAD: Criminal Law Paper Criminal Law Paper John Butler Bachelors of Science of Criminal Justice Maryland v. King, 569 U.S., On June 3, 2013 the United States Supreme Court ruled that it is not a violation of the fourth amendment right by having your DNA swabbed while being booked into a detention facility. And that a simple swab on the inner check was no different than taking a photo or being fingered printed during the booking process. This case came to be after a individual was arrested and booked for assault and during the booking process the individual had the inner cheek swabbed as part of the booking process as part of Maryland DNA Collection Act (Maryland Act) . After this individual DNA was process per the Maryland Act, the DNA matched that of an unsolved rape from years earlier. Because of the match DNA this individual was convicted and sentenced of the rape. When appealing the verdict the individual argued that his fourth amendment right was violated. What interested me about this case was the taking of DNA during the booking process. I have always thought that giving a DNA sample was something that was voluntarily given, rather than being forced. Or if there was a court order to obtain one’s DNA. I know that many states across the county have been creating laws regarding the collection of DNA from individuals who are involved in the criminal justice system. Some states collect DNA during the booking process, while other states only...

Words: 845 - Pages: 4