Responsibility; Who Has It And Who Doesn't And What That Means To The Nation

"The lawsuit is [the largest] example of irresponsibility in our society today. This function of our court system is so often abused, it nearly ceases to serve the purpose for which it was introduced."
Darrell Stoller, Eureka High School, Eureka, Illinois

"It is very easy nowadays for people to sue rather than take responsibility for their actions. Unnecessary time and money are being spent on legal fees and court costs, because people have come to believe they deserve compensation for their own lack of self-discipline."
Kevin Speicher, Conrad Weiser High School, Robesonia, Pennsylvania

In its January 17, 1994 issue, Forbes magazine ran an article by David Frum and Frank Wolfe which ranked the most litigious states. They discovered that D.C. is the most litigious area of the country and Utah is the least. Belying their reputations, New York, California and Texas ranked only 8th, 13th and 18th, respectively.

To rank the states, we developed five proxies for litigiousness: the percentage of automobile accidents where lawyers get involved; the average cost for one year's malpractice insurance for an orthopedic surgeon; the number of members of a state's trial lawyers association per 100,000 population; how much each state's chief justice spent to win his last election; and the amount the largest city in each state paid in lawsuits against it in the last fiscal year.

We then ranked the states and the District of Columbia from 1 to 51 in each of the categories. Then we averaged each state's five scores to arrive at a final ranking. The lower a state's score, the worse the legal climate. By a big margin, the District of Columbia finished in first place, with Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Mexico and Nevada rounding out the top five. Utah was a comparably secure last place finisher.

The journalists found that Detroit physicians pay over $150,000 a year in premiums, which is explained by the fact that Detroit juries award plaintiffs more generously than anywhere else. All Michigan physicians pay an average malpractice premium of $100,000 a year, more than eight times the median state.

The study omitted workers' compensation and school board and transit system liability, understating the cost of litigation to taxpayers. There were aberrations like the low ranking awarded Boise, Idaho, "because virtually all the city's roads are owned by the state government making the state responsible for lawsuits arising from accidents upon them."

They "goofed" -- Someone Else Pays
"A Chicago man left a party intoxicated and stumbled off the road to urinate. He passed obvious warning signs, climbed through boards used to keep out intruders, and was electrocuted when he relieved himself on the 600 volt third rail of the Chicago Transit Authority's Ravenswood line. His family sued the CTA for negligence and was awarded $1.5 million."
Alice Elizabeth Juvenal, Blue Ridge High School, Blue Ridge, Texas

"A jury ordered the New York City Transit Authority to pay thirteen million dollars to a man and the family of his late brother after the men came into contact with electrified subway tracks. Both men were admitted alcoholics and drug abusers. Transit police testified that they found intravenous drug paraphernalia near the victims. Although the reward was reduced to between five million dollars and six million dollars, the public was ripped off. No one should be rewarded if he gets injured while trespassing."
Justin Lockwood, Bondurant-Farrar High School, Bondurant, Iowa

"A man in New York received $650,000 in a legal battle. He purposefully jumped in front of a subway train and was mutilated by its wheels. He sued the city of New York claiming that the train should have stopped before it hit him."
Keli Crane, Blue Ridge High School, Blue Ridge, Texas

Students in New York uncovered many lawsuits by people who handled guns irresponsibly:
"A little boy was in his mother's room playing with a handgun and it accidentally went off. The bullet went through the little boy's leg. The mother sued the gun (manufacturer) for not putting a warning label on it that said to keep guns away from little children and keep it locked up somewhere safe."
Trang Le, Central Islip High School, Central Islip New York

"A man who reloaded his own ammunition, bought a rifle with a modified barrel. While finding the correct seating depth to seat his bullet in his new weapon, a job which should certainly be done with a non-live round, his weapon went off, and the projectile entered a powder closet. The resulting explosion destroyed much of his home, and also burned him quite severely. He then proceeded to file a number of lawsuits, including one against the gunsmith, the manufacturer of the barrel, as well as the manufacturer of the action."
Chris Wynne, Valhalla High School, Valhalla, New York

"An unidentified wife and husband were fighting. The wife grabbed a loaded revolver and placed it against her husbands chest. She cocked the gun and without warning the gun went off. É She sued the gun manufacturer claiming that she was only bluffing and that the gun went off too easily, thus killing her husband. This is a classic case of someone mishandling machinery and then blaming the manufacturer. This irresponsibility resulted tragically in a death. This also sets a bad example for those who have "accidents" with guns. It sends a message that it's OK to mishandle guns and then blame the manufacturer."
Amy Torchia, Valhalla High School, Valhalla, New York

Blamed if they do:
"A school administrator told me about a pregnant woman who sued a bar because they would not give her alcohol. It was responsible of the bar to observe her condition and stop her from possibly harming her baby. If the bar had served her alcohol, the baby could have suffered from several alcohol-related birth defects, such as Fetal Alcohol Syndrome."
Regina Austin, Blue Ridge High School, Blue Ridge, Texas

Blamed if they don't:
"Another example of a suit filed to disperse blame took place in Seattle. It was filed when a woman who openly admitted to drinking up to one-half of a fifth of bourbon every day while pregnant, had a child afflicted with birth defects. He was diagnosed with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. Though this condition was clearly her fault, she filed a suit against the James Bean Brewery, claiming that there was no clear warning on the bottles against drinking excessive amounts of alcohol while pregnant."
Chris Wynne, Valhalla High School, Valhalla, New York

The case above, that Chris brought to our attention, is all too common. On the other hand, Regina's earlier example bears closer scrutiny.
"No one is attempting to condone drunk-driving. On the contrary, the following excerpts show the results, which are not only more pitiful when the driver eludes responsibility but, as the students point out, outrageous when irresponsibility is rewarded:
"Michael Belton, a former clothing salesman won a $619,000 jury verdict because he was injured trying to board a bus. Belton's blood alcohol level was .424 percent which is more than four times the legal intoxication level. With this amount of alcohol Belton was so drunk at the time, he could remember virtually nothing of the accident."
Neal Bobzin, Centerville High School, Centerville, South Dakota

"In the summer of 1985, a man who had been drinking passed a series of detour signs. There was plenty of time to slow down, but he took a curve marked 45 mph at a high speed. The man suffered multiple injuries. By the time the doctors finally got around to giving him an alcohol test eight hours later, his blood still showed 0.09% alcohol level, barely below the 0.1% legal limit. At the time of the accident, his alcohol level was probably twice as high. He sued the state, but since there was a statutory cap limiting the state's liabilityÉto $250,000 he then proceeded to sue the road-contractor, the utility company who owned the adjoining property, and the engineering firm that designed the detour. Five years later, without ever getting to trial, the defendants caved in. They settled for about $35,000... Irresponsibility cannot be stopped, but it can be decreased. In the case of the drunken driver, he blamed the engineering of the highway detour. The man was drunk. É He could have called a taxi, or allowed a designated driver to take him home. Better, he could have not drunk at all. He simply could not accept the fact that the state was right and he was wrong. So he came up with the weak excuse that it was the highway's fault. It takes a cowardly man to come up with an excuse like that." Amy Brimer, Plainview High School, Ardmore, Oklahoma

Sometimes it works for smokers too:
"Rose Cipollone had been a chain smoker for forty years. When she died of lung cancer in 1984, her family sued three cigarette companies. The family was awarded $400,000. This, and similar suits, place the blame on the wrong people. Granted the cigarettes cause cancer but nobody forces the smoker to smoke." Larry Weingarten, Valhalla High School, Valhalla, New York

"A husband of a 20 year cigarette smoker who died of lung cancer sued the tobacco company for the responsibility of her death, even though the cigarette packages displayed a Surgeon General's Warning. He incredibly, won the case."
Emily McCulloh, Plainview High School, Ardmore, Oklahoma

"A young boy [got] lip cancer from tobacco chewing. His mother tried to sue the company that makes the tobacco. This is just one example where someone tries to put the blame on someone else. This boy is the one who put the tobacco in his own mouth; the company did not. He chose to chew, so that was his responsibility."
Sandra Johnson, Froid High School, Froid, Montana

In the excerpt that follows Quentin presents a farfetched lawsuit turning on cause and effect:

"A family was evicted by their landlord because they had not paid their rent for two months. Upon the eviction their cat died and they sued the landlord for causing the death of the cat."
Quentin Stover, New Underwood High School, New Underwood, South Dakota

Unfortunately there is not the slightest hint of humor in the stories below:
"A sixteen-year-old from Enid murdered his parents because he couldn't use the family car. He had cut classes the day before and had been grounded from the phone. When he was denied the use of the family car, he shot both of his parents. He claimed the reason was because they were too hard to get along with. This type of behavior will give people the idea that it is okay to kill people, if they can find an excuse that shifts the blame onto another person."
Farrah D. Gunter, Plainview High School, Ardmore, Oklahoma

"A teenage girl appeared on a nationwide television talk show admitting to having killed one of her so called friends. She claimed, however, that she was not in her right mind at the time and it did not seem to be either a wrong or immoral act. Because of her state of mind during the murderous act, she felt that she should not be held responsible for the girl's death."
Terri Boardman, Plainview High School, Ardmore, Oklahoma

"The acquittal of Lorena Bobbitt...is a major victory for the attitude that everyone has an excuse. During the L.A. riots...if someone saw something they wanted they just took it. This action has been justified through the excuse that these people have been oppressed for so long that something was bound to happen." Tom Moore, Niantic-Harristown High School, Niantic, Illinois

Perhaps an even greater victory for the attitude Tom Moore refers to is the acquittal of the Menendez brothers. The Menendez brothers were mentioned frequently in student essays. In the excerpts that follow Mandy and Jeremy echo much of what other students expressed:
"The Menendez brothers testified that the murder of their parents was committed in self-defense. At the time of the [Menendez] murders, the parents were sitting in their den eating ice cream. How can this trial be based on self-defense when the parents were not presenting a danger at the time they were killed?"
Mandy McCormack, Blue Ridge High School, Blue Ridge, Texas

"Even though I sympathize with the two brothers, it is strange to me how our system would allow someone to kill their parents in cold blood, and be released into society as free men."
Jeremy J. McCord, Crockett High School, Austin, Texas

A student in New Jersey assures us blame is neither new nor is it native to America:
"When Germany found herself in an economic depression and political turmoil, Hitler put the blame on the Jews. In other words he held them responsible....when the smoke at Pearl Harbor dissipated, General Kimmel, the commander in charge of the Pacific fleet at the naval base, was demoted from a four-star general to a two-star general. He was blamed for not avoiding an attack of which he had no knowledge. In other words, he was held responsible for the loss of hundreds of American lives and the destruction of battleships and fighter planes.

The ones who put the blame in these two examples were actually to blame themselves. Adolf Hitler needed a scapegoat for the hardships in Germany. When he made an error in battle strategy, he blamed the Jews. This irresponsible behavior cost millions of innocent lives and his eventual downfall. In the second example, President Franklin D. Roosevelt and the United States government should have taken the blame for that day at Pearl Harbor. But the blame was put on one man who was completely unaware of the attack. This irresponsible behavior on the part of the Roosevelt administration destroyed the career of one man who had devoted his whole life to serving the very country that betrayed him."
Jong-Hyuk Woo, New Providence High School, New Providence, New Jersey

However, blame seems to be a national past time:
"Everyone seems to have a "reason", I would call them excuses, for everything that goes wrong in his or her life, and the "reason" is never personal blame. Most people find a way to shift the blame to someone or something else."
Eileen Huston, Blue Ridge High School, Blue Ridge, Texas

"It seems that everyone today has a problem that isn't their fault."
Amy Deehr, Freeman High School, Rockford, Washington

"[A driver] claimed the accident was not his fault because the road construction with its loud machinery had distracted him and he could not concentrate on the road ahead. Once again responsibility was not taken."
Sanam Kashgia, Pioneer High School, San Jose, California

"I heard about a rapist that sued a wine company because the intoxicating substance caused him to rape a woman. Also, when Dan White murdered San Francisco mayor George Moscone, he argued that he was a victim of temporary insanity brought on by eating Twinkies."
Eileen Huston, Blue Ridge High School, Blue Ridge, Texas

"Two parents sued MTV and Ozzy Ozbourne because they claimed that Ozzy's video, 'Suicide Solution,' influenced their son to commit suicide. Blaming MTV for the result of family or other problems just isn't being responsible. "
Grant Anders, Seaman High School, Topeka, Kansas

"When the young people get bad grades and get in trouble a lot, they blame their parents for not raising them properly. When they do badly in school they claim that their teachers do not like them and that the teachers do not teach. When they listen to foul language music, buy dirty magazines, and watch obscene and/or violent movies and TV shows, they blame society for making those types of things available. When young people get in trouble with the law, they often try to place the blame on someone they don't like, or maybe even a friend, to avoid getting themselves into trouble."
Tonya Barker, Rock Hill Senior High School, Ironton, Ohio

"In today's society it's not the child's fault that they are failing or doing very poorly in a class. It's the teachers fault for not doing their job correctly. In one eastern state a teacher was fired because she failed more than half of her class. Teachers have one of the most wonderful jobs in the world. They get to open up the minds of young people and help them learn. Instead of putting the blame on the teachers É Kids need to value their education and take responsibility for it."
Kristin Chase, Phoenix High School, Phoenix, Oregon

"Irresponsible behavior can happen anywhere, even in a park where people try to have fun. One day, two young boys were playing in a park. The boys were acting like boys. They were running, laughing, jumping etc. They were even chasing geese near a pond in the park. All of the fun stopped when the two boys fell in the pond. People tried CPR but it wouldn't bring the boys back. Shortly after they got to the hospital the two boys died. Now the parents of the boys are suing the park for not providing park supervision.

I think the parents should look at themselves. Where were they when the boys were playing outside? It's the parents' legal duty to look after their children. These parents didn't do that. I think the parents should keep this tragedy on their shoulders to remind them of their irresponsibility."
Florencio Ramos, Jr., Richmond High School, Richmond, Illinois

"A young girl breaks her finger catching a fly ball in a school softball game; her parents sue her gym teacher, charging that she wasn't properly coached. The University of Michigan is sued for $853,000 by a student who received a low grade in German. Could it be that maybe the young girl didn't want to take the responsibility of practicing, and the student didn't take the responsibility of studying? Welcome to the nation of finger-pointers."
Laura Ann Shively, Freeman High School, Rockford, Washington

"In 1983 near our house, a college student was driving back to school on a Sunday evening. At the time there was major flooding in the low-land areas and roads were barricaded to ensure the safety of drivers. ÉWhen [the student] came to the barricades he decided to move them aside even though they said "Road Closed". É [Failing] to take the detour Écaused damage to his car. É He sued the highway department for not [securing] the barricades so they were immovable. Tax payers had to pay for the damages caused by this irresponsible person. The person got off the easy way and didn't have to pay for his mistake."
Randy White, Centerville High School, Centerville, South Dakota

"A Nevada man sued a casino after he returned to [the] parking garage to retrieve his car after spending several hours drinking and using drugs at a party. Instead of going to his car, he jumped over a railing and plunged several stories to the street and was nearly killed. The blame, he said, fell on the casino because they [employees] should have stopped him."
Tate Kauffman, Big Spring High School, Newville, Pennsylvania

"A woman went to a tanning bed. The attendant told her to stay in the bed only for a maximum of thirty-five minutes. Ignoring the advice, she set the timer for fifty-five minutes. Days later, she came back with second and third degree burns on her back and sued the tanning agency for her burns. The woman chose to expose her skin to ultraviolet rays. When the outcome was not what she expected, she should have learned from her mistake and tanned for a shorter amount of time, or just quit going altogether."
Sarah Harvey, Plainview High School, Ardmore, Oklahoma

"Today, people are blaming their problems on everyone but themselves. Nothing is ever the fault of the accuser."
Aimee Hunter, Aubrey High School, Aubrey, Texas

It's worse than that, Aimee. Now they're blaming the victims:
An oil rigger sued the state of Texas for waiting six years before arresting him. The suit charged the state with lack of due diligence in trying to find him after his appeal from a conviction for armed robbery was denied.

"A man named Christopher Duffy of Farmington, Massachusetts. stole a car from a parking lot and got killed in an accident. His estate sued the proprietor of the lot for failing to prevent auto thefts."
Erika Grossell, Deer River High School, Deer River, Minnesota

"Amy was a 25-year-old woman who had been diagnosed with AIDS. One cold night her 41-year-old neighbor broke into her home and raped her. After later contracting Amy's disease, Tony, the antagonist, sued her. He claimed that she should not have allowed herself to be raped knowing that she had AIDS."
Angelina J. Morrow, Plainview High School, Ardmore, Oklahoma

"(A man) serving a prison sentence for the shooting death of a police officer, didn't deny the murder, but said that it was the officer's fault, in part because the officer should have been wearing a bullet-proof vest which might have prevented his death."
Tate Kauffman, Big Spring High School, Newville, Pennsylvania

A convicted felon attempted to sue the owners of a bar, claiming that, but for their negligence in allowing his under-aged victim into their establishment, he would not have shot and killed him.

"At the tender age of 15, Lorissa became pregnant. Billy was charged and convicted with statutory rape, and he was also forced to pay a large percent of his already small paycheck each month for child support. Billy is now suing the girl for allowing herself to become pregnant and ruining his chances at a decent future." Angelina J. Morrow, Plainview High School, Ardmore, Oklahoma

"An employee of a jewelry store in Wisconsin. . .was trying to break in (at night) and steal their most expensive item.É He accidentally stepped on a skylight, fell through, and broke both his legs. He sued the jewelry store for thousands of dollars, and won!"
Holly Hart, Salem High School, Salem, Missouri

"On December 13, 1993, the security guard at the grocery store I work at witnessed a man shoplifting. When approached, the man started a fight. The security guard sprayed the man in the face with pepper spray and arrested him. After the incident the D.A.'s office was threatening to sue the security guard because the shoplifter claimed his rights were violated."
Karen Krumlauf, Phoenix High School, Phoenix, Oregon

On California's Monterey Peninsula a man was recently awarded $13,000 in damages due to excess force used by Costco employees when they caught him shoplifting. He admitted the crime and his violent attempt to resist detention by the employees but pleaded that the force used to finally detain him was excessive. The triumphant attorney successfully compared his client to Rodney King, who despite being a lawbreaker, was awarded $3.8 million in damages for the beating he suffered at the hands of Los Angeles police in 1991. Kids are understandably confused:
"Our world is turning upside down. The wrong done is being blamed on everyone except the person who is responsible. How did we get to this state of affairs?
For example, a boy who lived in North Garland, Texas, tried with a friend, to break into one of the high schools. That night he stepped on a skylight in the roof and crashed onto the floor. Suffering severe injuries, he sued the architect, the school district and the builder because they did not have guardrails around the skylights. He won, regardless of the fact that he was trying to break in. This boy was proving to the world that attempting to do wrong is rewarding. Others will probably try something similar and win also. Something is definitely wrong."
Heather C. Thomason, Plainview High School, Ardmore, Oklahoma

He's A Victim, She's A Victim----Bet We AreVictims Too!
"This is the age of the all purpose victim. People think that the loss of a job, an unsuccessful movie, a foul tasting can of soda, a slip on the supermarket floor, or an unbecoming face lift is sufficient reason to claim huge amounts of money. Individuals or groups [no longer attempt to resolve unpleasant situations or momentary setbacks; instead these become social problems.] The basic answer of the people is, we are not to blame, we are the victims....We are a society that is expanding the definition of a victim, instead of focusing on the genuine victims. The American people should focus on the real victims, and put their energy toward helping them." Kim Mandragona, Valhalla High ,Valhalla, New York

"A court ruled that drug addicts could sue the person who sold them the drugs for the physical and mental damage that these drugs can cause. In these cases, the drug addicts are refusing to take the blame for their own ignorance. It is well known by United Stated citizens that these drugs are illegal, and most people know the dangers involved. Addicts are not truly the victims in this case, but are selfishly trying to gain from their bad decisions."
Jera Chandler, Plainview High School, Ardmore, Oklahoma

"If we were to accept that because criminals are victims of abuse, divorced or absentee parents, living in the inner city, etc., and therefore cannot be held responsible for their actions, we would have to release every prisoner in the nation. . .Criminals need to see that what they do is not ok and that their actions will not be rewarded by either light sentences or ridiculous awards in court."
Nicole Griffin, Pioneer High School, San Jose, California

"Our society today claims they are victims of the system. They pass the buck, ignore morality, and have no concept of right and wrong."
John Espinosa, Aubrey High School, Aubrey, Texas

"Lorena Bobbitt, John Bobbitt, Tonya Harding and Lyle and Eric Menendez. What do these people have in common? They are all nationally known victims. Recently the word victim has come to (mean) 'an excuse for action.' All of (these) people expect or expected to use what happened to them as an excuse for the actions they took instead of taking responsibility for themselves."
Abby Ann Dunn, Knoxville High School, Knoxville, Illinois

"After the L.A. race riots in 1992, Damian Williams and Henry Watson were arrested for severely beating Reginald Denny, an innocent white bystander. Yet they were acquitted on all countsÑbased on the assumption that they were helpless victims of their environmentÑtherefore removing all personal responsibility from the matter and creating a precedent that promoted the concept of victimization."
Chris Jensen, Freeman High School, Rockford, Washington

If Crime Won't Pay Our Tort System Will
"My father explained a case to me, in which a burglar broke into a family's house and the owner sent his dog after the thief. The dog attacked and injured the burglar. The burglar then sued the owner of the dog for being attacked and hurt."
Kent Krech, Garnet Valley High School, Glen Mills, Pennsylvania

"People who put up beware of dog signs are still getting sued when their dog bites a trespasser. I think this is ridiculous. The courts argue that if a person puts up a sign that person knows his dog is mean, therefore that person is liable if the dog bites someone. Even a burglar can sue if he is bitten by a dog. That even makes less sense because the dog is defending his home. Isn't that why some owners get a dog. Where does the responsibility lie?"
Kim Johnson, Centerville High School, Centerville, South Dakota

"A burglar, attempting to break into a house through a skylight was injured when it collapsed under his weight. He sued the skylight companyÑand won."
Tate Kauffman, Big Spring High School, Newville, Pennsylvania

"A burglar, while stealing a television set, accidentally tripped, fell, and severely injured himself, so what did he do? Why, he simply sued the family and won. Since when is it a homeowner's responsibility to furnish a safe home for burglars?"
Andy Chen, New Providence High School, New Providence, New Jersey

"Another absurd act of irresponsible behavior, is the man in Portland, Oregon, who, in trying to rob someone's house, broke his arm. Instead of going to jail, the man sued the owners of the home, because he hurt himself on their property. The crazy thing is that he won!"
Josh McFarland, Phoenix High , Phoenix, Oregon

"Still another absurd case involves a bank robber who is suing the bank he robbed because he was hurt while trying to escape through the turnstile doors. The criminals are being rewarded for their blunders and the victims are paying. Too many people are shifting the blame and neglecting their responsibilities as citizens." Tisha Bacigalupi, Pioneer High School, San Jose, California

Commit a crime---Sue the victim! It's catching on:
"Also in New York, an armed robber was shot and injured by a police officer. The robber sued the police claiming that the officer had no right to shoot, even though he (the robber) was in the act of committing armed robbery. He (the robber) came out of court $4.5 million richer."
Keli Crane, Blue Ridge High School, Blue Ridge, Texas

New York is not alone! A fleeing kidnapper was literally stopped by a police car and later awarded $800,000 from taxpayers in San Francisco because excessive force was used in his apprehension.
"Laura, 16 years old, and Michael, 17 years old, had been dating for a mere two months when they decided to have sex. The two teens waltzed into their local pharmacy and shoplifted a box of condoms. One of the condoms that the couple stole broke during sex, and Laura was impregnated. The two teens sued the store for a large sum of money, claiming that the store should not have allowed faulty contraceptives to be placed where tempted teens could steal them."
Angelina J. Morrow, Plainview High School, Ardmore, Oklahoma

"A final example, one which I read about in the Medford Mail Tribune, started out with a man in New York being pulled over for a routine traffic violation. The man was carrying a bag of cocaine, and when approached by the police officers, decided to swallow the entire contents of the bag rather than to be caught with it. The man instantly went into convulsions, but the police acted fast enough to save his life. For this crazy or even stupid action, the man awoke at the hospital with minor brain damage. Instead of putting the blame on himself, he shed his responsibility, and blamed the police department for not acting quickly enough. Along with the blame, the man also filed a $7 million lawsuit."
Josh Alner, Phoenix High School, Phoenix, Oregon

Mike Ervin relates a similar story:
"My mom told me about an illegal alien that was not only driving, but was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol. The police officer took the illegal alien down to the police station where the police officer frisked the illegal alien before putting him in jail. A pack of cocaine was found and the illegal alien swallowed the cocaine. The police officer put the illegal alien in prison where he suffered medical problems due to the ingestion of the cocaine. The police officer took him to the hospital where he was treated. The illegal alien is now suing the police department for six million dollars because he claims that he suffered vision loss and brain damage due to the ingestion of the cocaine."
Mike Ervin, Richmond High School, Richmond, Illinois

Convicts get in on the act:
"One convict, whose sentence was increased for escaping, sued the county and its sheriff, accusing them of negligence in failing to prevent the get-away."
Laura Ann Shively, Freeman High School, Rockford, Washington

With time on their hands, they sue for a variety of reasons:
"Judge John Paul Sullivan of Massachusetts has demanded that a man convicted of murder get back his collection of sexually explicit material.
Alfred Brown was awarded $2.7 million while serving time in jail for manslaughter. He lost his left hand while trying to clean machinery. Alfred claimed that the injury ended his career as a part time drummer and nearly ended his marriage. The judge also awarded Brown's wife $35,000 for losses."
Michelle Berens, Colby High School, Colby, Kansas

"A convicted murderer, Ratford Cox, was awarded $19,609.80 for two years worth of withheld benefits, after he complained of not having enough money to buy cigarettes. When his life sentence was decided, the judge took away Cox's weekly workers' compensation payments. After his complaint, the state's Court of Appeals reinstated his payments saying that "there is no statutory authority for such a suspension."
Angie Guthrie, Deer River High School, Deer River, Minnesota

"Anthony Jones is suing because the state will not allow him to wear a bra, panties, and mascara in jail. The thirty year old convicted murderer feels he has every right to wear a dress if he so pleases."
Darrell Stoller, Eureka High School, Eureka, Illinois

"A prime example comes from a local radio station which reports two inmates are suing their correctional facility for $20,000 apiece on the grounds that the guards let them become addicted to Maxwell House coffee."
Rebecca White, Broken Arrow High School, Broken Arrow, Oklahoma

It Must Be Somebody's Fault; Accidents Don't Happen Anymore
"[In April, 1993] a Kansas lawyer was awarded $35,000 for back injuries that he claimed he suffered because he had to reach into the back seat of his car to retrieve his briefcase; a colleague received a $95,000 settlement in a similar case after he allegedly injured his back lifting his briefcase from his car trunk!"
Tate Kauffman, Big Spring High School, Newville, Pennsylvania

"A man from South Dakota went on vacation and asked his neighbor to pick up his mail for him. Within the few days the mail is bombarded with various Christmas catalogs, many of them were fairly heavy. Because of their heaviness the neighbor claims he got a hernia from lifting them and now plans to sue for damages." Carmen Knuppe, New Underwood High , New Underwood, South Dakota

"Another act of irresponsible behavior took place in the parking lot of a McDonald's in Westchester, Pennsylvania. A woman was walking to her car and fell. The lot was not covered with snow, ice, water, or anything else that could have caused the fall. McDonald's is now being sued because this woman could not walk." Michele Paulick, Garnet Valley High School, Glen Mills, Pennsylvania

In the summer of 1994 a jury awarded a lady $2.9 million because she was scalded by McDonald's coffee which spilled while she was driving. McDonald's will appeal, but customers better be prepared for tepid coffee from fast-food restaurants in the future. Those with deep pockets have to protect themselves from lawsuits.

Some ice fell from the roof of a department store and killed a passerby. The family rushed to sue the department store the building's architect and any other entity with deep pockets.

"Another example of irresponsibility was displayed by a family who sued Los Gatos Christian Church. Their daughter went water skiing with the high school group and she didn't know how to ski. The youth leaders then proceeded to teach her how by giving her instructions. When she finally began skiing she hit a wave, and fell resulting in an injured knee. The church paid for everything, hospital stay, ambulance ride, physical therapy and other expenses, without being asked. About three years after the incident the family sued the church for $50,000 because they didn't teach her how to ski properly."
Kerri Franklin, Pioneer High School, San Jose, California

"A man was riding in a golf cart and when his friend turned the corner too sharply, he fell out and hit his head. He ended up dying a couple of days later. His family sued the golf club for using carts without seat belts. His family was awarded an estimated $305,000 for doctor bills, pain and suffering... A lot of other things could have been done about the seat belts... The man's family could have easily started a project to get seat belts in the carts. This would have been a worth-while project, starting with their small community and then expanding the program. I'm sure a lot of individuals would have gladly taken on the project with them. Another solution they could have used would be to start a fund in his name to let people know how important he was to them. The golf club more than likely would have donated some amount of money to help the fund along."
Rachel Cooper, Plainview High School, Ardmore, Oklahoma

"A woman was trying to open the sliding glass door at her house, when she lost her balance and fell through. She tried to sue the glass manufacturer for all her doctor bills and pain. Her complaint was the door somehow always got stuck."
Rachael Cooper, Plainview High School, Ardmore, Oklahoma

Whatever Happened To Common Sense?
"A woman tried to sue a sneaker store for selling her sneakers that were a full size below her actual size. The woman claimed that due to the inadequately sized sneakers, she had received an ingrown toe nail on both feet and went through much pain and agony. Though the sneaker store may have sized her feet incorrectly, if the lady was experiencing pain or felt confined in the sneakers, she should have realized this instead of walking around for long enough to get ingrown toe nails."
Linda Cheung, Central Islip High School, Central Islip, New York

"A man sued the Little Debbie company for 40 million dollars because he was eating a snack cake and fell out of a tree. He won because he claimed there should have been a warning label on the box stating that the cakes should not be eaten in trees! "
Rose Nieto, Falls City High School, Falls City, Texas

"For example, a local newscast explained a story of a truck owner who sued the manufacturer for faulty information. This man had recently purchased a new Blazer type four by four, which was equipped with cruise control. Apparently not familiar with cruise control, this man set the speed then jumped into the back seat. The vehicle then, of course, went off the road and hit the telephone pole. The cruise control system was thought to be an automatic pilot, and the man sued the manufacturer for not specifically explaining to him that cruise did not mean auto-pilot. He won the case!"
Jonathan Moritz, Harrisburg High School, Harrisburg, Oregon

Vincent Oddo, Garnet Valley High School, Glen Mills, Pennsylvania "People sue companies for mistakes like not putting a warning label on a car hood. If a person doesn't know that if you slam your finger in a hood it is going to hurt, he should be going to a mental hospital or something."
Jason Johansen, Marion High School, Marion, South Dakota

"First of all, a man who fell off a ladder sued the ladder company because no warning label was on the ladder to tell a person not to stand on the top step. The sad part is he won. It is a shame when a company is forced to place warning labels on a product, when using common sense would take care of it."
Adam Fordyce, Froid High School, Froid, Montana

"Another frivolous case is that of the land owner who set his extension ladder in the mud, and proceeded to climb up onto his barn. When the ladder slipped and fell, he sued the ladder company for not having a warning label on the ladder stating that it should not be set into wet mud. Unbelievably enough, the court decided in his favor."
Emily McCulloh, Plainview High School, Ardmore, Oklahoma

"A boy recently sued a candy company that has a foil wrapper on its candy because they failed to state "remove foil before eating," After eating several of these candies, the boy suffered an intestinal blockage and had to be taken to the hospital. All you have to do is use common sense and you should know to unwrap candy first. This is very irresponsible on the part of the parents for letting the boy eat them with the wrapper on and I personally would feel pretty stupid suing someone because I ate candy with the wrapper on."
Brian Woodward, Niantic-Harristown High School, Niantic, Illinois

"A few years back a lady and her family were visiting at Yellowstone National Park. While the woman was there she wanted to get a picture of her daughter with one of the park's bears. As a lure to get the bear to come near her daughter she put peanut butter on her daughter's cheek. She thought it would be cute if the bear was licking the little girl's face. The bear didn't know any better so he started licking the peanut butter off. In the process he bit the little girl's cheek. The mother was outraged, and insisted that the bear be killed. She won her case and the bear was killed."
Quentin Stover, New Underwood High School, New Underwood, South Dakota

"People sue companies for not putting common sense warning labels on their appliances. This was the case when a refrigerator company was sued for not putting a warning label on the refrigerator that carrying it on one's back could be harmful. How stupid can people get?"
Eileen Huston, Blue Ridge High School, Blue Ridge, Texas

"The judicial system needs to crack down on some of these ridiculous claims such as, 'The paint label didn't say not to use it on my cat.', or 'There should have been a sign that said not to drive my car through the grocery store.' I mean really, wake up and smell the 90's. Judges need to see through the facade of 'victimization' and get rid of these petty cases and save the tax payers money."
Alan Welburn, Phoenix High School, Phoenix, Oregon

"People no longer use common-sense to solve simple problems. My friend's mother slipped and fell on a patch of ice in front of a local department store. She wanted to sue the store because they had not put a sign up stating that the sidewalk may become slippery when frozen...My cousin attempted to sue Stillwater Company for the design of their 'Kicker' sub-woofer speakers...He was arguing that there was no warning that he might suffer hearing loss while listening at high volume."
Richard Blagg, Jr., Aubrey High School, Aubrey, Texas

"A woman took a birth control pill, from Johnson and Johnson company, for three years. She then had a stroke. She sued the company, because the label didn't list strokes as a side effect. The company claimed it did through common sense. The label said that the pill may cause fatal clotting, and a stroke fits under fatal clotting. The jury found the woman correct and awarded her 1.75 million dollars."
Brent Bill, Eureka High School, Eureka, Illinois

"A woman sued the apartment complex because her husband drowned in the swimming pool. This sounds pretty normal until all the facts are brought to light. These facts are, that the husband on his birthday got drunk, then with his wife and fifteen friends went to the pool. During the night he decided to walk all the way across the bottom of the pool. His friends and wife watched as he walked to his death underneath the surface. The wife won."
Brent Bill, Eureka High School, Eureka, Illinois

"A graduating student in Los Angeles county sued the education system in 1992 when he failed to get accepted to college. The young man could not read but had received passing grades in his classes throughout his high school years. He was an excellent basketball player who ranked high in his league and the school didn't feel they had a team without him. He was seriously injured in the final game of the season. After his injury, his grades and test scores were more important to colleges than his athletic ability. Granted the district should never have given him passing grades, but the student had to be aware that he was not meeting the standards set for him."
Kevin Gilman, Phoenix High School, Phoenix, Oregon

"The body of a man who died of cancer was given back to the son of the deceased because he could not pay the price of the cremation. The price of the cremation was six hundred eighty three dollars, and he only had two hundred seventy nine. The son said he wanted to discuss some kind of payment plan; however he was told he had to have the payments the next day. Newell Evans, who was the owner of the mortuary said he did not just dump the body with intentions to make the son mad. He just returned the body."
Jeff Hershberger, Eureka High School, Eureka, Illinois

Please! Grow Up!!

"A co-worker intentionally humiliated a man by repeatedly passing gas in his presence. This man sued his co-worker for a hundred thousand dollars for his crude and very unsocial behavior.. This kind of immature behavior is at a grade school level."
Amber Irish, Freeman High School, Rockford, Washington

"A man sued two people for scratching his car. The couple was out in a parking lot having a snowball fight. They landed a snowball on the car. The snowball had a piece of gravel in it. The owner got out of his car and proceeded to have words with the person who threw the snowball. Just before getting in a fist fight, the man who owned the scratched car left. Later that day the man who owned the car chased down the couple and broke their tail-lights. He sued to have his car repainted and the couple counter-sued the man for the tail-lights and a ticket that they received for the broken lights."
Jeremy Hoffpauir, Walters High School, Walters, Oklahoma

"A lady, twenty-five years after graduation, wanted to sue the school because she could only read on a third grade level. She blamed the school because they, at the time, did not have any form of special education for the slower reading students."
Carrie Waters, Valley Springs High School, Valley Springs, Arkansas

"A woman did not stretch properly before working out. As she worked out, she tore a muscle. She sued the gym because no one told her to stretch before working out. A judge ruled that the gym pay for her hospital bills and loss of work pay."
Chris Beeler, Freeman High School, Rockford, Washington

"A man worked for a company that supplied gasoline to gasoline stations. One evening this man was waiting on his truck to finish pumping gasoline into a storage unit. While he was waiting, he lit a cigarette. The fumes immediately caught him on fire. He proceeded to sue not only the trucking company he worked for, but also the gasoline station and the company that made the gasoline. Despite the fact that he should have known better, he received $2,000,000 in damages. What many people do not realize is that the judges have a responsibility also, to pass fair judgment, especially during ridiculous lawsuits."
Kelly Baker, Broken Arrow High School, Broken Arrow, Oklahoma

"One day we talked in class about a guy that shot two kids because they threw snowballs at his car and then he said he was the victim;...the two kids died. I don't believe he's taking responsibility for what he did because he blamed it on the kids and how bad his day at work was. If people don't start taking responsibility for what they do, what is our nation or world going to be like in ten years? When I have children, is it going to be safe for my kids to walk on the sidewalk without being shot at because one of them waved at a person in a car and another person saw it as a rude gesture and didn't like it, then he gets out and attacks them in some way that they get seriously injured?"
Jason Johansen, Marion High School, Marion, South Dakota

"In New York, a woman was punched in the face at an Aerosmith concert she was attending and sued the band, the record company, Madison Square Garden (the arena where the concert was held), the producer of the concert, and even the company that sold her the ticket. She claimed that the music incited her unknown assailant to hit her."
Alan Lindsey, Broken Arrow High School, Broken Arrow, Oklahoma

"In Cincinnati, Ohio, J.R. Castigal filed a suit against Newport Country Club saying he was attacked by a Ghost. In another case, Ethel Ashely age 72, paid $10,000 to meet Mr. Right. She sued her match maker, claiming the service kept getting it wrong."
Jason Cade, Rock Hill Senior High School, Ironton, Ohio

"Men who injured themselves in refrigerator races argued that the warnings against carrying these appliances was insufficient."
Cory Poplin, Broken Arrow High School, Broken Arrow, Oklahoma

"A man felt his wife was at fault because she did not love him at the time of their marriage. A court actually thought a quarter of a million dollars is due to a man because he was not loved. This society allows preposterous claims like this one to go on. The man puts the blame on his new wife for the failed marriage. He did not share the responsibility. This sort of behavior is not isolated. While watching television my mother saw a story of a women suing a wealthy man for breaking their engagement. She was granted over $200,000. She will not have to work for a long while because a man decided she really was not the right woman for him. This society punishes a man for not loving a woman enough. Again this person is not taking the responsibilities to survive, but instead living off another's hard work."
Tisha Bacigalupi, Pioneer High School, San Jose, California

"In Florida, a woman sued a teenage boy for standing her daughter up on prom night."
Aaron Thigpen, Valhalla High School, Valhalla, New York

A Florida man sued over a haircut he claimed was so bad that he needed psychiatric help to overcome an ensuing panic-anxiety disorder that deprived him of his right to enjoy life.

A fortune teller supposedly lost her psychic powers following a CAT scan. She was able to persuade a Philadelphia jury to award her $1 million, even though the judge threw out the verdict.

"A woman paid $75 for a perm and ended up with a frizz job. She sued the styling salon for $2500 for the two year expenses she had to pay on special shampoos and conditioners. She ended up winning $800."
Ramona Lazanis, Freeman High School, Rockford, Washington

"A high school girl was suing another girl because she got sick and vomited on her new jacket. Cases such as these, when the court system is being used for means of entertainment or personal gain, diminish the power of the system as a whole."
Kendra Smith, Eureka High School, Eureka, Illinois

It seems to us that Kendra has it exactly right!

It's wise to avoid a lawsuit. Most people realize this and that is why so many disputes are settled out of court. If you aren't convinced perhaps a recap of a tale published in the Wall Street Journal on March 23, 1993 may help.

It took seven years to resolve a dispute about who should pay for the installation of mandated child-proof window guards in a New York City co-operative apartment. Cost: $909. The choice was to divide the cost among all the residents or make the resident to whom the mandate was directed bear the expense. That resident had a child, but wanted nothing to do with the window guards. It took seven years for attorneys on both sides to bring their clients to a settlement. Legal fees totaled over $100,000 in a dispute over widow guards which cost $909. Are you convinced?

Medicalization
"The problem of shifting blame is very large, and it is due in part to the medical community creating mental disorders, and the justice system allowing mental disorders to remove responsibility from offenders. I don't believe that abnormal DNA sequences can cause a person to make obscene phone calls, nor can a hormonal imbalance cause one to commit murder. What is known as the "Medicalization of Morality" is teaching citizens that they don't have to be responsible."
Allison Myers, Big Spring High School, Newville, Pennsylvania

"If something is their fault, and they can't get out of it, then they have a mental problem. Everyone has a mental problem, there is no way that one can face the world today without a mental problem."
Aimee Hunter, Aubrey High School, Aubrey, Texas

Michael Faye, the 18-year old American youth convicted of vandalism (spray painting private property) in Singapore, was not able to escape responsibility for his acts, even though his attorneys tried to excuse his action by claiming he suffered from "attention deficit disorder", and the President of the United States intervened on his behalf.

"Winston, however, claimed that he suffered from "a handicap of sexual addiction." Being handicapped can stop good judgment, but hiding under a subtitle shows no responsibility on his part."
Sanam Kashgia, Pioneer High School, San Jose, California

"A man entered a local restaurant where a girl he was interested in worked. When she refused a date with him, he broke into a shooting rampage, killing six people. He, too, felt he should not be held responsible for his actions because he claims to have been under the influence of both drugs and alcohol at the time of the shooting."
Terri Boardman, Plainview High School, Ardmore, Oklahoma

"In California, four people were awarded more than one million dollars because living near a polluted ground water supply had given them 'cancerphobia'.
What about the case of Marc Christian, former lover of Rock Hudson? He was given $14.5 million because, even though he tested negative for the HIV virus, he suffered from fear of AIDS. Have fears and phobias become a substantial reason for law suits?"
Eileen Huston, Blue Ridge High School, Blue Ridge, Texas

"After Sol Wachtler, the chief judge of New York State's highest court, was arrested for extortion and threatening to kidnap the 14 year old daughter of his ex-lover, psychologists came to his aid. They claimed that Wachtler was 'manifesting advanced symptoms of Clerambault-Kadisky Syndrome (CCKS)'Ñwhich means that Wachtler was irresistibly lovesick, or suffering helplessly under the spell of erotomania, leaving him blameless for acts committed.

Also, Steve Howe, a Major League pitcher who was banned from baseball for life after a long series of cocaine violations, beat the rap in arbitration. The player's union successfully argued that he was the victim of 'attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)', a diagnosis usually referring to hyperactive children, to excuse a 34 year old drug user.

And finally, in Milwaukee earlier this year, a defense lawyer cited 'cultural psychosis' as the reason why one teenage girl killed another girl for her leather jacket. They claimed that society is at fault here once again, because in this case, the violence of inner-city life conditioned her into thinking that problems are resolved by gunfire. This is another one of those 'the devil made me do it' defenses. All this legal business is sending the message that you don't have to take responsibility for your own actions. Blaming society has become the concrete defense in most cases."
Rocco Troiano, Valhalla High School, Valhalla, New York

"A Florida judge was caught stealing a VCR remote control from a store in Delray Beach, Florida. The Supreme court ordered Garrett off the bench. Garrett appealed, claiming the decision constituted discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act. He claims his disability was depression. If depression is a disability, everyone on the face of the earth would have that disability. We would no longer have to worry about parking in handicapped spaces because all parking spaces would be handicapped."
Sara B. Sheaffer, Big Spring High School, Newville, Pennsylvania

"A teenager claims he was unfairly suspended from school for holding a knife to a girl's throat...He wants the court to lift his suspension, stop expulsion proceedings and award him more than $40,000! The boy claims to have a learning disability which the school did not detect."
Jennie Peacock, Aline-Cleo High School, Aline, Oklahoma

"A Virginia special education teacher sues in federal court after being penalized for repeatedly failing to achieve the minimum acceptable score on a standardized test. The teacher claims that she was discriminated against because she has a handicap that inflicts her with a slowness in understanding written and spoken information." Mike Tallon, Lexington High School, Lexington, Illinois

"Another man, who didn't inform the federal government of his mother's death collected $33,000 in Social Security which was electronically deposited to a joint account. He did plead guilty to this crime but blamed it on 'extreme procrastination behavior' brought on by his depression."
Kelly Herb, Conrad Weiser High School, Robesonia, Pennsylvania

"A Massachusetts firefighter was given notice his wife wanted a divorce. He crept into her bedroom and beat her within an inch of her life. While she was in the emergency room, he checked into a mental hospital. All charges were dropped because he pled insanity. Several months later, he was caught again sneaking into his ex-wife's home. The case was dismissed, but he was fired from his job. Where is this "victim" now? He was reinstated to his job, he collected $176,774 in back pay, and an additional $20,000 for emotional stress. Now, is he the real victim or is it his ex-wife, who received nothing but permanent injuries?"
Sara Tweed, Colby High School, Colby, Kansas

In March, 1994 the state of Montana outlawed the insanity defense, creating a precedent which can be used by other states.

"On the talk show 'Oprah', a young man had a problem with beating his wife and children. He blamed his problem on his father, since his father had beat him as well as his mother, when he was a child. The man said that it was hereditary and there was nothing he could do about it. This man has absolutely no excuse for not getting help and should be punished."
Kristin Chase, Phoenix High School, Phoenix, Oregon

"Under federal law, any person with a low income and a mental or physical 'disability' that keeps him from working, is entitled to SSI[Supplemental Security Income]. In certain cases, addiction can be defined as a disability, so some people hooked on drugs or alcohol are entitled to benefits."
Chris Myers, Pioneer High School, San Jose, California

"A woman being tried for murder escaped sentencing by testifying she had a severe case of PMS (premenstrual syndrome).É In another example a man was fired from his job because of his many tardies. He not only regained employment from the company after suing, but also claimed he had the 'late syndrome' and received compensation for being fired in the first place. To get back on the right track as a kind and caring society, we need to stop inventing new syndromes on which to blame our problems."
Mandy McCormack, Blue Ridge High School, Blue Ridge, Texas

"Another example of irresponsibility is the case of Warren S. Graboyes, a Philadelphia orthodontist. He was charged with fondling a teen-age girl who was under his care for years. When the girl complained ... he claimed he had a sexual disorder. This allowed him to get off with a revoked license, and four years probation, and one month in a hospital therapy program for problems such as his. After this, Graboyes claimed the insurance company owed him sixty thousand dollars a year because his illness rendered him incapable. This is a good example of how people become rich off infamous doings."
Jeff Hershberger, Eureka High School, Eureka, Illinois

"Last year a man applied as a transfer student to the University of Illinois. Included in his application was an unusual request: he asked that the university ignore his 'D' average, admit him, and allow him twice as much time as the other students to write exams. Why? Because he had a learning disability. When the college rejected his application, the man's mother sued, demanding $500,000 for his pain and suffering. Her grounds? That the university violated her son's rights as a disabled person. The Illinois State Court ruled for the disabled man and his mother, but was his disability the college's responsibility? The college was required at the time to allow all persons equal opportunity. All persons must have the equal opportunity to graduate from college in the same, fair way. The man's mother knew that the college could not allow him special privileges, so why didn't she just drop it and move on? She didn't drop it because she knew she could get a few quick bucks from her son's ordeal."
Kristie Chaney, Plainview High School, Ardmore, Oklahoma

A dyslexic student sued a school for having multiple choice questions. The pleading stated that the school was negligent in not providing alternate testing to accommodate his handicap.

Should the punishment match the crime?

The April, 1994, issue of California Lawyer reported that 37 lawyers were disciplined by the State Bar. In the case of one practicing attorney, a "string of misdemeanors and criminal offenses occurring between 1985 and 1992É(were) issued (in) a 57-page decision, including a lengthy summation of (his) criminal convictions and psychiatric condition." The punishment meted out by the Bar for recent improprieties was a 30 day suspension and 7 years on probation. It was alleged that the attorney "suffered from severe bipolar depressive disorder."

Justice was on Kristie McAdams' mind when she related the following story:
"My aunt's boyfriend was arrested for [child-molestation]  He spent no time in jail and bonded out on a $2,500 bail. I would hope that the therapy he is going through will help him because he received almost no punishment from our legal system. I now realize why victims of sexual abuse become frustrated with their abusers for not being sentenced with a fair judgment."
Kristie McAdams, Lubbock-Cooper High School, Lubbock, Texas

On the other hand Kara makes a poignant case for less harsh sentences:
"For example, a relative of mine was killed by means of electrocution after being sentenced to death. The charge was murder in the first degree. The government asserted that he had killed a furniture store owner in cold blood. They failed to mention that the accused was retarded and had been sprayed in the eyes with a can of mace."
Kara Mitchell, Lubbock-Cooper High School, Lubbock, Texas

Pam points to laws that allow wrong-doers to act with impunity:
"Until you are eighteen, you cannot be tried as an adult. ... This and the Youthful Offender Act, that allows anyone up to the age of twenty-one to have sealed records, are but two ways that teenagers can escape the responsibility for their actions."
Pam Courtney ,Demopolis High School, Demopolis, Alabama

It is clear that the justice issue is a major concern for Kristie Chaney. Unfortunately, from the account she gave us in the portion of her essay reproduced below, it is difficult to draw a conclusion. Especially bothersome is her reference to 'other technicalities':
"There are endless cases in which the defendant accepted no responsibility. In 1988, in Topeka, Kansas, a hospital worker was entering an emergency room parking lot when a patient driving over the designated speed limit hit and totaled the worker's car. The worker and the patient both sued. The patient sued the hospital on the grounds that it negligently failed to maintain traffic control signals in the parking lot Éand was awarded $100,000 for injuries and other technicalities, while the defendant was only awarded $50,000 for injuries and was also required to pay a fine for not wearing a seatbelt. The patient used written laws to his benefit, while accepting no responsibility for his actions. But what about the person who was most affected by the wrongdoing? His car was totaled, he was injured, and he did not receive a fair compensation for his suffering. Not one bit of responsibility was taken by the offender."
Kristie Chaney, Plainview High School, Ardmore, Oklahoma

It seems Kristie would have us concede that the disparate awards are unjust. It is impossible to do so without knowing why the court ruled as it did. We included Kristie's excerpt to urge students, and other readers to always weigh passionate rhetoric against objective evidence.

The excerpt that follows shows that occasionally judges give in to their own personal feelings. The laudable desire to be helpful is often subjective. As Michael suggests below, this gives mixed messages, especially to young people:
"[A] judge by the name of Robert Schillberg released Leroy Kelley who is a convicted thief, violent offender, and rapist with a $1.00 fine which the good judge paid himself, after Kelley was caught stealing cigarettes from a grocery store. The judge said that the store was more at fault than poor Leroy [because the store] provided the cigarettes. The officer who arrested Kelley was obviously upset and felt that the judge's reasoning was unfair. This judge is sending a message to society that if you commit a crime against those who do legal but somewhat socially unacceptable things, you do not have to pay for it."
Michael Gammon, Eureka High School, Eureka, Illinois

Attention all victims! These students are on to you!
"People claiming to be victims are taking our attention away from those who are real victims. Those who cry wolf are causing a detriment to us as a society."
Michael Lantz, Valhalla High School, Valhalla, New York

"One of the greatest problems in American society is people who want to victimize themselves. They do this because they know that we will surely reward them or they will gain something."
Andrew R. Schertz, Eureka High School, Eureka, Illinois

"A generic example can be used to explain the lack of accountability that is becoming increasingly evident in our nation. Thirty years ago, if a crime was committedÑa burglary for exampleÑsociety was considered the victim. The case seems logical. Property, possibly irreplaceable, was taken and perhaps injuries were sustained. It would seem obvious that 'society' was the victim. That was then, this is now. Today, views have become so twisted and skewed that the burglar can be considered victimized: by his underprivileged upbringing, by the school that did not teach him to read, by the church that failed to reach him with moral guidance, by the parents who did not provide a stable home."
Mark Rossney, Garnet Valley High School, Glen Mills, Pennsylvania

"A family was dumping their wastes into the oceans, and the fish would swallow the plastics and such, killing them instantly. Their irresponsible actions caught on videotape, the family is now suing the owner of the videotape for invasion of privacy."
Courtney Paniagua, Plainview High School, Ardmore, Oklahoma

Just to show that we are not addressing an exclusively American problem: A 12 year-old in Australia sued his principal. The student had admittedly vandalized school property and the principal notified his mother. The student sued because his feelings were hurt when his mother showed up at the school.

"In my neighborhood there is a woman who has received money from Social Security to return to college to earn a degree. So far this scenario sounds wonderful. However, this woman already held a job. She had filed a claim that she could no longer maintain her job because she suffered from a weight problem. Then she was issued government money intended to put her through a local school of cosmetology. Instead of relying on the government for help by claiming to be a victim, this woman should have been responsible enough to either lose the weight, find a different job, or put herself through college."
Michelle R. Gannon, Rock Hill Senior High School, Ironton, Ohio

"Why work when welfare is always available, and society or someone else is to blame for all of the mishaps that occur in one's life? We become a society of endless excuses, where no one accepts responsibility for themselves."
Melissa Shepanski, Garnet Valley High School, Glen Mills, Pennsylvania

"Shifting of blame has been around since the time of Adam and Eve. Eve ate of the Tree of Good and Bad and later Adam joined her. When he was being questioned by God, Adam blamed Eve, saying the woman made me do it. [Even if] this transferring of blame started with the imperfection that humans inherited, people can't blame mistakes on imperfection and not try to overcome them."
Karen Gowin, Colby High School, Colby, Kansas

"Another example of someone not being held responsible for his own actions is the tragic story of Len Bias, whom I read about in a February issue of Commonwealth. He was an N.B.A. draft choice who died from a drug overdose. Sports writers blamed his death on childhood experiences. They failed to realize that Bias had a choice and he died of his own ignorance and stupidity rather than a childhood problem."
Karen Krumlauf, Phoenix High School, Phoenix, Oregon

"We live in a society of victims where a person's condition is never their fault and whoever they blame for their problems is responsible for helping them."
Lisa Wharton, Marion High School, Marion, South Dakota

"Lately it seems as though the attitude of the general public is one that constantly wants to play the victim....This is illustrated perfectly by Calvin of the 'Calvin and Hobbes' cartoon when he remarks to his father that nothing he does is his fault, as he is the 'helpless victim of countless bad influences", and that "an unwholesome culture panders to his undeveloped values, pushing him to malefesance; he should therefore take no responsibility for his behavior.'... In this past decade and a half, we have come to expect others to take care of us; it's time we learned how to take care of ourselves. Enough of this society of victims! We are all a victim of something or other, whether it's racism, bigotry, ageism, sizeism, a repressed childhood, or the asbestos industry. It's time to get on with it already."
Nicole A. Mellado, Carbondale High , Carbondale, Illinois

According to the American Bar Association Journal, April, 1994, second hand smoke now qualifies as assault and battery. First a Georgia Court and then an Ohio court ruled that blowing smoke in someone's face is an intentionally harmful or offensive contact that the subject would take negatively; a definition of assault and battery. A person may sue if the conduct alleged is battery, even if the damage sought is as low as one dollar.

The ABA Journal also discussed the possibility that "environ-mental illness" may not exist and concluded that whether it exists or not, alleged sufferers experience severe reactions to specific pollutants, often including chemically based perfumes. In order to accommodate the Americans With Disabilities Act, communities in Northern California are rewriting ordinances. The expense to taxpayers will accelerate when the ordinances are challenged and defended in the court room by the manufacturers of perfume and their customers.

"We cannot make ourselves into victims to escape responsibility, or we will never be able to stand on our own two feet, to be independent, to be free."
Kara Wayman, Garnet Valley High School, Glen Mills, Pennsylvania

"Violence is at an all-time high, and everyone is a victim of some complex, phobia, or syndrome. We have become a nation of blame, of excuses."
Amy Deehr, Freeman High School, Rockford, Washington

"No one wants to say, 'It's my fault. How can I help?' Instead, people making ridiculous and sometimes dangerous mistakes, point their fingers and scream, 'Help me! I'm a victim!' The American society has become lazy. No one takes pride in a job well done. Instead they mooch off of everyone else's mistakes, and even find a way to earn a little extra from their own by blaming anyone but themselves. America has become a 'take what you can get and run' society of leeches.É People gripe that the wrong person got voted in and that the laws passed are no good; how many people have taken the time to write Congress or the president when a bill they don't like is being debated? My guess is not many. I would be willing to bet even fewer write to say they agree with a certain bill. When people start taking an active part in their government, then it will be what they want. Until then, they need to shut their mouths and learn to live with the government they are allowing to exist."
Heather Stearns, Carbondale High School, Carbondale, Illinois

"What could be more pleasing than a society where nothing is wrong? That is the society we are developing. What was once considered wrong, now can be considered a mental problem or something you can not help because your parents weren't there for you. It is a pleasing idea, and that is why America is adopting it so rapidly. For a society not to blame individuals personally, it must accept everyone's personal definition of morals. If everyone has their own definition, then there are no morals, and if there are no morals then people can not live in peace."
Tom Moore, Niantic High School, Niantic, Illinois

Young people are critical, but they are also proposing solutions:
"I suggest that we take responsibility for our own actions and don't try to push them on other people. If it's our fault, we need to take the blame and move on with our lives. Life is too short to waste! "
Tammy Johnson, Froid High School, Froid, Montana

"In our society there are many responsible individuals. However, there are also many who avoid taking responsibility. This problem has been created because, as children, people are educated with differing ideas of what responsibility is. Some children are raised in an environment that teaches them to take responsibility for their actions, but others grow up in an environment that teaches them to pass the responsibility on to someone else. They are brought up to believe that the world is against them. They are poor because no one wants them to succeed. They live in slums because they are from the wrong country. And they are in jail because nobody wants to help them. All through life, they act irresponsibly because of the ideas they are raised to believe. The solution to this problem may seem to be impossible, but it only seems that way because that is what we are brought up to believe."
Jerry Schreck, Eureka High School, Eureka, Illinois

Neal has a definite suggestion:
"One way of stopping these lawsuits that cost the taxpayers millions of dollars each year is to make people realize they have responsibilities. If someone is under the influence of alcohol or drugs while an accident occurs, he should be made to take treatment and no money [should be] awarded to that person."
Neal Bobzin, Centerville High School, Centerville, South Dakota

Tate Kauffman laments "the vast amounts of time and money wasted" on frivolous lawsuits. His prescription follows:
"The legal system will have to play a great role in reversing this, 'There must be someone else I can blame', trend. A person who has been truly wronged has every right to sue. A person who is merely looking for someone to take the blame has just as much right to sue; however, if judges and juries begin cracking down on the plaintiffs in these ridiculous cases, they will soon lose the desire to do so. ... Lawyers could help by following their hearts more and their wallets less. Ultimately, however, this is a problem that can only be solved when each individual person decides to accept responsibility for his or her own actions."
Tate Kauffman, Big Spring High School, Newville, Pennsylvania

Other solutions are more concrete:
"People can lobby for limits on amounts of damages courts can award. They can pressure government to cut down on the loopholes in the law which allow people to blame vague 'others', such as society, for their actions."
Mike Godfrey, Phoenix High School, Phoenix, Oregon

"Many people find it easy to fake injuries. Some people even self-inflict themselves with minor injuries so they can collect insurance. [A] way to prevent this is to quit handing out settlements for more than the victim's costs."
Andrew R. Schertz, Eureka High School, Eureka, Illinois

The students whose excerpts are reproduced below are also incensed about fraudulent claims and frivolous lawsuits. Some of them have solutions:

"There should be a higher risk in making fraudulent claims. The nation has gone crazy with suing. Our nation needs stricter penalties for bringing false cases before a judge, like in England. Lawyers are in great demand due to this new craze. The lawyers should be held partially accountable for the cases that they agree to take. If they know that their client has no real claim it should be strongly recommended not to take the case."
Michele Paulick, Garnet Valley High School, Glen Mills, Pennsylvania

"Consequences for irresponsible behavior need to be more strict. If a person does not suffer any consequences for their irresponsible actions then they will not care if they act that way again."
Brian Toon, Lexington High School, Lexington, Illinois

"There has to be a way to fix all this loss of responsibility. My suggestion would be to do away with frivolous lawsuits. The only way to do this would be to make the one who files pay for all costs if he/she loses."
Rose Nieto, Falls City High School, Falls City, Texas

Jennifer cautions us not to become overzealous:

"Even though many times people don't have the right to sue, there are cases when people have every right. Sometimes victims deserve money for their losses or for the bills endured."
Jennifer Hauschel, Concordia High School, Concordia, Kansas

Kristie wonders whatever happened to the constitutional right to make contracts? She discovered that courts now often rewrite rather than enforce contracts:

"In 1990, in Tulsa, Oklahoma, a woman was treated in a dental clinic. Following the removal of a tooth, her jaw was fractured. She had previously signed a form waiving her right to sue for negligence. The court held the form as invalid and stated that health care professionals cannot avoid liability for their actions by forcing patients to sign releases before treatment. The woman was immediately awarded $75,000 for injury and pain. É She had signed the release form that stated that the doctors (assumed) no liability. Even if it wasn't legally valid, she had signed it, announcing her trust in the doctors. She took no responsibility for what very well could have been her own fault."
Kristie Chaney, Plainview High School, Ardmore, Oklahoma

"Her own fault"? Unless the fractured jaw occurred months later and during a fight or in an accident, Kristie's hypothesis is hard to imagine. However, we do get her point and because of space limitations can only suggest that Kristie and other curious readers look into the evolution of tort law during the second half of the twentieth century. The students below who wrote about emotional distress might be surprised to know there was no cause of action for emotional distress a relatively short time ago. Stress is a modern tort. [Contact the Foundation if you need help with research in this area.]

Stress----A Real Cash Cow
"In Los Angeles, at least three police officers who witnessed the notorious videotaped beating of a black motorist have filed for worker's compensation, claiming that they suffered anxiety and stress."
Kim Mandragona, Valhalla High School, Valhalla, New York

"(Donna Roberts) charged that a veterinarian severely injured her pet iguana in 1989. She sued for one-million in damages, contending that the animal suffered a broken back and that she endured emotional stress."
Bridget Robertson, Broken Arrow High School, Broken Arrow, Oklahoma

"A Wyoming man sued an adult video company because they failed to live up to their advertisements. He sought over $50,000, including the cost of the video, medical expenses covering the asthma attack he suffered as a result of the 'stress of being ripped off', and compensation for suffering."
Sara Tweed, Colby High School, Colby, Kansas

"For example, in Connecticut recently, a woman shot her fiancŽe because he canceled their wedding, and a court found her innocent of murder because of insanity due to emotional shock."
Kevin Speicher, Conrad Weiser High School, Robesonia, Pennsylvania

A woman in Miami was awarded $40,000 worker's compensation because her fear of black people made it impossible for her to work in a racially integrated office. She had once been robbed and beaten by a black man.

If you are not yet thoroughly convinced of the need for tort reform, the following group of excerpts involving "Good Samaritans" should do the trick.

Do Unto Others At Great Monetary Risk To Your Own Family

A construction worker and a police officer pulled a pregnant woman in labor from an overturned car only moments before it exploded. For their good deed they were sued for negligence by another accident victim they didn't have time to help. The two "good Samaritans" only had seconds to act. The police officer is certain that if the construction worker hadn't stopped and acted quickly, a lot of people would have died on the San Diego freeway in early November, 1990. The suit claimed the two "good Samaritans" were negligent in not setting up flares to warn oncoming motorists and in not caring for the second person in the car. This "second person" somehow got out on her own and was injured further when another car careened into the overturned car. The person bringing suit was only 17 years old so you might assume a lawyer played a significant part in the decision to sue.

"One night four teenage friends were in an idling vehicle. The driver had unknowingly backed his Bronco into a snow bank. The exhaust system was not working right, and carbon monoxide seeped into the vehicle. Sometime later a boyfriend of one of the two girls was out looking for them. What he found didn't look good. He found his girlfriend, her best friend, and two male friends slumped over; he knew it was carbon monoxide poisoning and that he had to get them to a hospital quick. He rolled down the windows of the Bronco and drove to the hospital. Upon arrival the two sitting in the back seat, a boy and his girlfriend's friend, were found dead. The others were near death but lived with minor problems resulting from the poisoning. It was a matter of minutes before they would've died too. Now the parents who own the Bronco want to sue the teen who saved their son's life. He took responsibility and did a heroic thing, but the responsibility avoiders claim he should not have driven their vehicle without their permission."
Lindsay Mannelin, Deer River High School, Deer River, Minnesota

"Kavin Gill and another employee of DeBest Plumbing Inc. rescued Dwight Kaufman after a dirt trench wall collapsed on him. Dwight Kaufman's head was buried underneath the dirt so Kavin Gill dug the dirt out from around his head. They were fined seven thousand, eight hundred seventy-five dollars because they didn't take the proper safety precautions against other walls falling before they went and rescued Dwight."
Kristen Hoozee, Prairie High School, New Raymer, Colorado

"A fireman, who is also my father, told me about a story he read in which a man was sued for saving another man's life. . . . Apparently the man in danger was trapped in a cave of falling rocks. The rescuer went in to save him, and was sued because he did not bring an extra hard hat."
Regina Austin, Blue Ridge High School, Blue Ridge, Texas

Deep Pockets:Where There's Money There's A Lawsuit or How To Stop Progress

"A lady requested a speed bump be installed near her home where people habitually speed. The city turned her down saying, "Someone could easily lose control of their car if they hit a speed bump while speeding... the speeder...could then turn around and sue the city with a good chance of winning."
Matt Cunningham, Plainview High School, Ardmore, Oklahoma

"My sister owns a hair and tanning salon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Since she has opened the salon, she's learned that there are many risks that come with owning a tanning salon. If somebody tans too much and develops some kind of skin cancer from it, they could sue my sister for a lot of money and probably win. Even though signs are posted as how long to tan, and the customer chooses to ignore them, should the shop owner still be held responsible?  I know I cannot solve all the problems in the world today, but I have tried to at least solve one of them. Remember the problem my sister had with her tanning salon? I talked with her and mentioned the idea of having tanning cards. This would mean if you went into the tanning salon for the first time, she would give you a card to fill out before you start to tan. On this card would be questions like: how well do you tan? Do you burn easily? Do you have any type of health risks? What type skin do you have? etc. My sister would then read it over and decide whether or not this person was a high risk. She would maybe only allow them to tan three times a week for 20 min. each. If this person was not at high risk, she could maybe let them tan every other day for 30 min. each. In both cases, after one to two weeks at that schedule, they would fall back to tanning one to two times a week to keep their tan. My sister thought this was a good idea, but whether or not she will decide to use it is another thing. She has to decide if the money she's making from the people who tan exccessively, is worth the risk of a possible lawsuit."
Tonya Koutson, Centerville High School, Centerville, South Dakota

"Things were beginning to get out of hand in the state of Florida in the mid to late eighties. So many doctors were being sued for malpractice that they were refusing to deliver babies of lawyers. Also, a woman who was shot in the back waited thirteen hours before they could find a hospital unafraid of a malpractice suit, only for the woman to turn around and try to sue the police department which found her wounded."
Danielle Johnson, Valhalla High School , Valhalla, New York

"A couple was driving down the road, lost control of the car and went into a ditch. During the course of the crash the woman's seatbelt broke, the man's did not. She was thrown into the back seat of the car. She survived but her husband was killed instantly because his seatbelt stayed in tact. Her lawyer told her that she could sue the [car manufacturer] for negligence because of her defective seatbelt. She won a large settlement even though her seatbelt breaking saved her life."
Angie Olsen, Centerville High School, Centerville, South Dakota

"In Washington, D.C. a ten year old boy received more than fifteen million dollars. He was hurt by falling on a asphalt playground. The management, the manufacturer of the playground equipment, and the playground designers were all sued... Another case of irresponsible behavior also took place in Washington, D.C. A four year old girl was scalded by hot water. The girl's mother left the room and her sister turned on the hot water. The water heater manufacturer, the thermostat manufacturer, the building's owner, the property manager, a plumbing company, and the Washington Gas Company, were all sued by her family."
Amber L. Gillenwater, Rock Hill Senior High School, Ironton, Ohio

"Fawna Wright, age twenty-three, sued a German chemical company that makes laundry detergent. She claimed that her leukemia was caused by this detergent, which was used to wash her diapers when she was a baby. In 1990, she received three point seventy five million dollars from the company. She also claimed that the detergent gave no warning. There were no medical records showing that she developed leukemia as a child. This woman appears to be looking to blame someone else for a problem she has. This action resulted in a huge loss of money by the German chemical company and will most likely cause this company to lose customers who read the article that their detergent causes leukemia."
Amy Torchia, Valhalla High School, Valhalla, New York

"The founder of Domino's Pizza dropped the 30 minute guarantee on pizza delivery after a court found a Domino's driver guilty of running a red light and striking a woman. This shows responsibility on the part of the owner, but is the $79 million dollars awarded to the woman really an appropriate award for personal injury? Does this contribute to the high numbers of law suits filed in America today?"
Mike Godfrey, Phoenix High School, Phoenix, Oregon

"I work at a local supermarket. Lawsuits happen about once a month in our store. About a year ago I was filling milk, when an elderly lady approached me asking for help since she had extremely poor eyesight. I helped the lady, and was instantly approached by her friend. Soon after, the elderly lady attempted to walk off and bumped into a milk crate. She ripped open a sore on her leg. The lady ended up filing a lawsuit saying that I was negligent for leaving milk crates out on the floor.
At another supermarket, belonging to the same chain as mine, but in California, an employee forgot to tag a special advertised item. A customer, angry at the store for trying to rip her off for fifty cents, sued. On top of that, the store was fined by the state. Both the example above and this example are of people trying to make some easy money by suing a business. In the first example the lady shed her responsibility for herself, expecting the store to clear out any obstructions from her path because she was blind. When she hurt herself and attempted to put the blame on the store, she was expecting the store to be responsible for her every action."
Josh Alner, Phoenix High School, Phoenix, Oregon

Students are concerned. They know they're discussing their own future:
"All of the lawsuits that are filed by irresponsible people scare off manufactures and doctors, as well as, tie up our nation's court system. Twelve percent of gynecologists say they have stopped delivering babies because of litigation risks and insurance premiums. Forty-seven percent of U.S. manufacturers say they have withdrawn products from the market and in the 1960's eight out of nine pharmaceutical companies which conducted contraceptive research dropped out due to fear of lawsuits. The U.S. has five percent of the world's population, but seventy percent of its lawyers. Today, there has been three times as many lawsuits filed in federal courts as there was in 1960."
Jennifer Waddell, Rock Hill Senior High School, Ironton, Ohio

No one dares operate any type of business in a litigious society without insurance coverage. A business offered a safe ride home to drinkers, charging $12.50 for trips up to 10 miles. The business had never put a claim in for insurance and was insured for $1,500,000 per vehicle. Nevertheless its premiums were continually raised until they reached $10,000 a year. After 125,000 trips the business was about to fold because of insurance costs.

"There are a growing number of commercials on television advertising accident lawyers who promise that their client will receive a settlement or that the lawyer will not bill the client. It seems impossible that they can promise these results even before they hear the circumstancesÉbut they have found a way and are not being stopped by the judicial system. This is because lawyers have become so experienced they canÉlay the blame wherever they wish."
Kerri Dodds, New Providence High School, New Providence, New Jersey

"Defendants have no choice but to hire a lawyer and go to court when someone sues them for a large amount of money. In the end, this ultimately hurts our economy. People are forced to pay higher insurance rates to cover the needs of those being sued. The irresponsible behavior of a few causes harm to many." Richard Blagg, Jr., Aubrey High School, Aubrey, Texas

"There is a way to get rich quick in America. And instead of working long and hard hours all one has to do is do something stupid. That's right, do something dumb, sue the manufacturer and win millions of dollars in a lawsuit."
Scott Corcoran, Seaman High School, Topeka, Kansas

"People sue other people because they do not want to take responsibility for their wrong actions. Many times this is not true, but this does happen when people don't read directions and sue when they get sick from misuse of a product. These court battles take up much money and time for everyone involved."
Kelly Earp, Knoxville High School, Knoxville, Illinois

In 1986 hundreds of claims were filed blaming automobile accidents on an unidentified design defect in the Audi 5000. By 1989 Audi was facing demands totaling $5 billion. After comprehensive studies by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and its counterparts in Canada and Japan, the cause of the sudden acceleration in the Audi was determined. The extensive studies showed that the cause was the same as in any other carÑa foot placed accidentally on the wrong pedal. Despite this total vindication, a California court brought in a $3.7 million verdict because Audi should have made its car idiot-proof!

"People like Glen Bailey, of Keene Corporation, have decided to fight questionable lawsuits rather than settle them. Bailey is taking responsibility for his corporation which manufactured asbestos plaster, cloth, and pipe coverings. With over 76,000 cases pending, he is making sure that only those who deserve compensation will get it."
Nicole A. Mellado, Carbondale High School, Carbondale, Illinois

Town officials in Amherst, Massachusetts, allocated $125,000 for the removal of bird droppings from the Town Hall attic. Residents were outraged and formed a group called Pigeon Busters (they were dressed in Ghost buster paraphernalia which included gas masks, respirators and rubber boots) and offered to clean up the mess for free. The town officials refused because the cleaners needed to have insurance to cover the town and themselves. The volunteers offered to sign waivers, but the town said it would still be liable. Bids, ranging from $50,000 to $260,000, had come in from professionals with insurance. The problem started when a town employee thought she had contracted a disease transmitted by birds. Her supposition turned out to be false, but it spurred the officials to action. The volunteers came up with a brilliant idea that apparently hadn't occurred to the elected officials-----fix the broken window frame that had let the pigeons enter the attic!

Irresponsible Journalism
"After airing an investigative report on the faulty placement of gas tanks of GM trucks, a major network television newsmagazine, Newsline admitted to rigging GM truck with igniters, causing them to explode. The show included many shots of these trucks colliding and because of the faulty gas tanks, exploding. To get a story, they ruined the reputation of a reputable automobile. It is getting harder to even believe the news on television."
Jera Chandler, Plainview High School, Ardmore, Oklahoma

"Recently the media has [come] under fire for irresponsibility. When the eighty-one second videotape of Rodney King being beaten by four white police officers was shown time and time again on every news program in the country, many experts believed that the media was responsible for the Los Angeles riots. People saw the video tape so many times that a guilty verdict, convicting the officers, was the only acceptable outcome. When the verdict was not guilty, people were so angry that the Los Angeles riots began.

Another example of media irresponsibility is the recent rash of 'setup' news stories. Although NBC, and its scandal over setting up a GMC truck to blow up during a news story on the dangers of the truck's gas tanks, was the most publicized, almost every major network has been accused of rigging news stories. CBS has been accused of setting up combat scenes in Afghanistan. A news reporter in Alexandria, Minnesota, was found guilty of providing minors with alcohol for a story on teenage drinking. É A reporter for USA Today was suspended for fixing up a photo of gang-members. The reporter had actually sent the young men home to get their guns to pose for the picture."
Mara Bergeron, Deer River High School, Deer River, Minnesota

We asked students to include a solution to a social problem in their essays. Erica and Jenny tackled ethics in journalism while Lindsay honed in on the problem a local paper was having with its letters to the editor:

"The problem of journalistic ethicsÉis a widespread problem. No one person can solve it completely. I think, however, that it can be corrected by concentrating on the future journalists. If I could get together with the journalism department in my school, [I would urge them to] Éput out a newsletter to circulate to other schoolsÉ. It would include activities for teachers to give journalism students in order to stress the importance of ethics in the media. It would also teach aspiring reporters that researching a story is imperative to being a well respected, successful reporter. As the newsletter grew, we [might] get additional support and funding from other schools [in order to expand] circulat[ion]."
Erica Anderson, Strasburg High School, Strasburg, Colorado

"Given the chance, I would do three things to improve responsibility on the part of the mass media today. The first thing I would do is to pass a law (one that is enforced) that no public or private figure can be bothered by the media until there are official indictments made.É Secondly, a simple 'tit for tat' should be legally enforced. [When] a newspaper does a front page story on a person's involvement with drugs, and [later] É discovers the charges are not founded, they have a tendency to [apologize] on page twenty-seven two weeks later.É The paper should be legally required to give the same attention to the dropped charges and clearing the person's name as they did to the original charges. A front page story should get another front page story."
Jenny Larson, DeForest High School, DeForest, Wisconsin

Linda and Cecil offered more subjective criticisms:
"One major act of irresponsibility, in my mind, involves the Bobbitt case. In case anyone hasn't heard of this case, it involves a wife who has severed her husbands male organ after he presumably raped her. Whether she was justified in this matter or not is not the issue here. ÉWhile I agree that this is a peculiar case and newsworthy, I don't feel it deserves this much attention. Also the detail in which this case has been presented isÉdistasteful. Not to say I don't feel the public has a right to know, but enough is enough."
Linda Cheung, Central Islip High School, Central Islip, New York

"Papers don't dig for the filth they print; it is easy to find since it floats like scum on a pond. If they were to dig, they would find human compassion, and responsibility."
Cecil Boyd, Freeman High School, Rockford, Washington

Although the following excerpts offer no concrete solutions, these students showed they were aware of the role media played in exacerbating or alleviating what many view as the "irresponsibility epidemic". They saw the potential:

"In US News and World Report I read that in the inner cities TV sets are turned on for eleven hours a day."
Becky Anderson, Phoenix High School, Phoenix, Oregon

"During a single day, ten various networks showed a total of 389 serious assaults, 362 incidents of gunplay, and 273 punching scenes."
Andrew Tsung, Carbondale High School, Carbondale, Illinois

"Some of the responsibility lies with television. Television programs have become more and more daring in the showing of violence and sexual themes. É There was such an excessive amount of violence in the program that ABC executives wanted to tone it down, but the miniseries producers screamed censorship and nothing was done."
Mindy Tschetter, James Valley Christian High School, Huron, South Dakota

Some students urged dominating the media:
"Television and movies are not the root of the problem. All the editing and censoring in the world cannot solve the basic problemÑthe need for people to take responsibility for their actions."
Nick Eagan, Lexington High School, Lexington, Illinois

"Do not be guided by technology, take it upon yourself to guide technology. The media provides outlets for achievement in education, business, entertainment and politics. We cannot afford to waste this priceless resource."
Jenny Thurman, Walters High School, Walters, Oklahoma

"If we feel a program to be too violent, we should not demand TV to be censored but pick up the remote and exercise our right to turn the channel."
Nicole Lien, Barnesville High School, Barnesville, Minnesota

"If violence must be shown, show the widow grieving, show the mother hysterical over the loss of her only son"
Ashley Wilson, David Crockett High School, Austin, Texas

Student interests (football and hunting) add a personal touch to the following excerpts:
"My view of responsibility is people tending to their business and taking care of top priority. The only thing, besides school, that has really taught me responsibility, is football. Football players must be extremely responsible for working out, making practice and having an over all good attitude about themselves and their teammates. The game teaches discipline and is a good way to teach yourself responsibility".
Keith Wrape, Walters High School, Walters, Oklahoma

"Another problem of irresponsible behavior is that if you have a No Trespassing sign (posted) on your land and someone comes on your land to hunt without your permission and gets hurt, who should have to pay for their injuries? According to the law it is the land owners responsibility. If someone has nerve enough to come on the land and hunt even though there is a No Trespassing sign up and they get hurt, then they should definitely have to pay for their own injuries. If the landowner had the responsibility to (post) signs, so others should have the responsibility to stay off the land."
Jackie Welsh, Centerville High School, Centerville, South Dakota

Responsibility

Responsibility: who had it and who didn't. What that meant to the children discussed in the next two excerpts is all too clear:

"An eighteen month old baby was admitted to the pediatrics ward with a condition called Strider. Strider is a swelling and irritation of the bronchial tubes. When the baby's condition worsened, it was transferred to the intensive care unit. The intensive care unit was not set up with the correct staff to care for such a case. The baby should have been flown to a larger hospital. To compensate for the lack of correct staff, the doctor assigned a pediatrics nurse to the intensive care unit. This nurse was instructed to notify an intensive care nurse whenever the baby needed its lungs suctioned, a procedure the pediatric nurse could not perform. The baby later died because its lungs were not suctioned at the proper time. When the pediatric nurse was questioned she claimed that she was not qualified to work in intensive care and therefore would not be held responsible. The intensive care nurse replied that she was not notified by the pediatric nurse that suctioning was needed. Couldn't someone have taken the initiative and saved this baby?"
Abby Ann Dunn, Knoxville High School, Knoxville, Illinois

"A third example of responsible action is the woman who became irritated with the child that kept fidgeting in front of her at a Los Angeles movie theater. When she glanced to the side, she realized a sixty-year-old man was molesting the boy. The lady asked the theater's manager to phone the police, but he refused. Therefore she followed the little boy and the molester to a toy store where she begged the manager to call the police. Soon the sixty-year-old man was arrested and found to be a registered sex offender."
Amy Asbury, Knoxville High School, Knoxville, Illinois

In his inaugural address President Clinton pleaded the case for offering more opportunities and demanding more responsibility from Americans. He admonished citizens: "It is time to break the bad habit of expecting something for nothing, from our govern-ment or from each other. Let us all take more responsibility, not only for ourselves and our families but for our communities and our country."

There is no doubt that President Clinton would be proud of the example set by Gary Freas as described by Jerry Schreck in the excerpt from his essay reproduced below:

"T. Gary Freas has cerebral palsy (which) kept him from . . .finding work. He purchased a shoe shining kit, and (took) it to the mall every morning. Nearby workers noticed how reliable Gary was, and . . .built him a shoe shining shop of his own. Now he has his own shop because he took responsibility for his life."
Jerry Schreck, Eureka High School, Eureka, Illinois

Even with the best of intentions, being responsible is not easy.

"It takes a lot of caring and hard work to stay responsible."
Rusty O'Brien, New Providence High School, New Providence, New Jersey

"Responsibility is a hard thing to possess. To have it, one must work hard. And to keep it, one just works harder....If everyone was responsible for himself, the United States of America would be the greatest country in the world!"
Dave Svach, New Providence High School, New Providence, New Jersey

But who would have thought the government would act as a road block as in the example taken from Tim Moore's essay:

"A local lady, mother of three and recently divorced, found it impossible to pay rent and provide food for her children when her husband walked out on her. She went to the appropriate government agencies to request assistance. Six months later when she was beginning to get her life under control, she went back to the agencies to tell them she no longer needed the assistance. She came away from the agencies feeling as though she had broken the law. She had been reprimanded for asking them to take her off their roles. They had complained about the amount of paper work she was causing them by making such a request."
Tim Moore, Valley Springs High School, Valley Springs, Arkansas

Of course the welfare agency in Arkansas made a mistake; one which the ex-governor and current President of the United States would not condone. On January 21, 1993 the Wall Street Journal opined that if the Clinton administration would "keep the President's notion of personal and public responsibility before them, there is reason to hope that genuine good will result from their work."

Judging from the essays we received, many students are as hopeful as the Wall Street Journal. Some are realistic as well:
"I have decided that responsible behavior usually comes from average people. ... These people get up every day and go to work. They pay the bills and put food on the table for themselves and their families. These people are usually not recognized in the media."
Brian Toon, Lexington High School, Lexington, Illinois

"To run our every day lives by set limits takes a great deal of responsibility. É Though these limits seem like they are some sort of punishment, they are not. These limits are set to helpÉand will even benefit us in the future."
Jay L. Erickson, Hoonah High School, Hoonah, Alaska

"A family just bought a brand new vehicle. They use half of their welfare check each month to finance it. Is this a wise way to use the check?...The same woman who told me about how irresponsibly some people use their welfare checks, also told me about some people who are just the opposite. There are many recipients who will pay off all of their important bills promptly. They don't spend large amounts of money needlessly, and they use their food stamps wisely. In other words, they use their aid the way it was meant to be used."
Heather Crocker, Salem High School, Salem, Missouri

"Imagine a world where everyone is responsible...there would be no corruption, no teen pregnancies, no drug addicts, no ugliness. We would never have to worry about our brothers, or neighbors, or employees, because everything would be perfect. Of course, this is an impossibility; however, what is possible is to become just a few steps closer to that perfection....Most of all, we need to realize that with our personal freedom, the liberties that we fought so hard for, comes responsibility."
Nicole A. Mellado, Carbondale High School, Carbondale, Illinois

Unfortunately many adults are a far cry from Nicole's expressed ideal:

"A bad example of accepting accountability is that of a FBI agent, again the guy who was supposedly in charge, who embezzled a couple of thousand dollars from the government, then lost all of it gambling in Atlantic City. The man is fired, but wins reinstatement after a court rules that his affinity for gambling with other people's money is a handicap and therefore is protected by federal law."
Karen Gowin, Colby High School, Colby, Kansas

A woman drove to a city 30 miles from her home after putting her 9 week old infant in a closet. Her husband, who wasn't often around, found the baby and called the police. He claimed he didn't even know the baby existed and assured authorities that the child wasn't his. This irresponsible woman was president of the local school board.

A 25-year-old anti-graffiti mural artist was caught vandalizing private property with spray paint in the Sunset District of San Francisco on April 6, 1994. He was employed to teach youngsters how to channel their artistic expression. How's that for a role model?

The chief economist at Bears Stearns, Lawrence Kudlow, was forced to resign in March, 1994, after admitting he had drug and alcohol problems. He has frequently been asked to testify before congress concerning economic matters.

In the spring of 1994, Congressman Carroll Hubbard was found guilty of abusing campaign funds.

"If the government took more responsibility for its actions maybe the people would soon do the same."
Dana Guiffreda, Valhalla High School, Valhalla, New York

Two top executives of the Woolworth company were sued for fraudulent activities. According to the Wall Street Journal April 4, 1994, one defendant "acted to conceal adverse material information regarding Woolworth's finances in an effort to increase and maintain an artificially high market price for the common stock of Woolworth."

"Corporate irresponsibility has it's immediate harms---unsafe or unaffordable products, dangerous or alienated work environments, unemployment and growing inequality, ravaged urban centers, widespread pollution, and crime."
Victoria Jones, New Underwood High School, New Underwood, South Dakota

"Some companies don't take responsibility for dumping their waste or polluting the air because of the desire to make more money. ...These companies that are wrecking our environment ...should not be able to have an easy way out."
Robert Keith Preheim, Marion High School, Marion, South Dakota

"People don't like to take the time to reuse again. It's easier to buy another. But now you can do your share of reusing or recycling. All you have to do is separate paper, aluminum, glass, and plastic, and recycle. It saves the US money and energy. 'In 1988 26 million tons of paper and 28 billion glass bottles and jars were recycled in one year.' Aluminum was always an area of recycling. 'In 1989 sixty one percent of aluminum was recycled.' If everyone does their share this would be a better country to live in."
Dawn Stein, Rolla High School, Rolla , North Dakota

We don't want Dawn's statement above to mislead readers. What she, and other students say about environmental concerns, specifically recycling, while generally true, does have another side which is seldom heard. For instance, some recycling processes are energy intensive and produce volumes of wasted water. Landfill space is saved at the cost of water, fuel and other forms of energy with their pollutant by-products. Additionally, local governments rarely charge the consumer anything near what it costs to recycle and many cities never directly charge residents for garbage collection. When the costs are hidden in taxes, the incentive to reduce waste is lessened.

Consumers can only make rational decisions when they are allowed to see the whole picture. While it's true that recycling aluminum cans takes less than ten percent of the energy necessary to change bauxite into aluminum, consider also that in the sixties it took 164 pounds of aluminum to make 1,000 cans; in the nineties it takes only 35 pounds. This is a result of technology and competition between the can manufacturers, not merely mandates from environmentalists. The issue is multi-faceted. While we do not take sides, the Foundation does encourage balanced discussions.

"Industry also illustrates irresponsibility. For years industry dumped their wastes into streams and lakes, buried radioactive waste underground, and discharged sulfuric acid into the air. Corporations thought that nature would take care of the waste, but they were wrong. Part of these toxic wastes can end up in the food chain. The environment can handle some, but not all of our waste. Finally, the most overlooked example of irresponsibility towards the environment comes from citizens all over the country. Improper disposal of household chemicals ranks high as a source of toxic waste. Many household chemicals have not even been tested for their effects on the environment. Although sad, these examples of irresponsibility towards the environment can be reversed, but it will take time and dedication to change the way we treat our world."
Samuel J. Newcome, Kinsley High School, Kinsley, Kansas

Perrier yanked its water from the market even though benzene levels did not exceed safety standards. The company understood that consumers are often more motivated by emotional rumors than they are by facts.

Some people fear we are becoming timid, frightened and ill-informed. They fear we may be sacrificing the economy to excessive concern over radon in basements, alar on apples, ozone holes, nuclear energy, greenhouse gases and so forth. Others agree with Brazil's Secretary of the Environment. In an address to the Climate Change Conference in the spring of 1990 he said that "The worst and most dangerous aspect of our modern economic thinking is the dogma of the necessity for continuous economic growth. Even the idea of sustainable growth is a contradiction in terms."

"The greenhouse effect, a thinning ozone layer, deforestation, endangered species, and pollution of our water and land have all become major headlines. These problems caused Americans to recognize our responsibility to protect those resources not just for ourselves, but also for our children and grandchildren. People began to feel the need to work together to solve the problems that they created."
Michelle A. Peterson, Concordia High School, Concordia, Kansas

As you will read below, Darrell Stoller faced reality and disillusionment early. He saw the only alternative for an adult bus driver "a man he believed worthy of respect" was to hold his peace or lose his job:
"I do not ride the bus very often anymore, and what I saw and heard shocked me. For the most part, the students maintained a quiet respect for the driver. This was what I was used to. Over the years I did not always agree with my driver, but I always respected him. However, there were about four very rude kids riding that day. They paid no heed to the driver, although he tried his utmost to obtain order. Three of the children were brothers, the other was a neighbor. I learned from my sisters that this was the way they acted every day.

As I left the bus, I asked the driver why he could not discipline the troublemakers. I remembered an incident of my past, where my riding privileges were suspended for a week. I had broken one rule to receive this punishment. I counted seven rules that were posted in the front of the bus that were all broken in fifteen minutes. To me this looked like a case where some severe disciplining was needed. It seemed that some other people felt the same way as I did. However, they intended to punish the other party. My driver told me that he would have to change routes in a couple of weeks. If he did not do this, he faced a possible dismissal. It seemed that the parents of the culprits had complained to the principal of the school that their sons were not receiving fair treatment on their bus route. They felt the driver was at fault, and they urged that he be fired. I found this to be absurd. These children had obviously had very little disciplining done by their parents in their upbringing. Now that they were being exposed to what they deserved, their parents viewed it as unjust. The threat of a lawsuit may cost one man his bus route, andÉ his riders[may lose] a good driver."
Darrell Stoller, Eureka High School, Eureka, Illinois

There was more evidence that this project required more than the usual research for factual information. A great deal of subjective soul-searching took place across the nation:
"People tend to act first and think later. Possible outcomes are not considered until the act is over. People in modern times do not think rationally, they base their actions on pure feelings and on a moment to moment basis. This lifestyle is extremely dangerous. Many bad situations can come out of living this way." Jon Greskiewicz, Garnet Valley High School, Glen Mills, Pennsylvania

"There is a story in the Bible about Nehemiah, in the Old Testament. One day, the king granted him permission to rebuild the city of Jerusalem. When he got there, he saw that there was much work to be done. Day by day, little by little, the people began to lay down bricks to build the city walls. One person would start here, and another person would build there. Eventually, each individual wall met to become one huge wall that was to be the city walls of Jerusalem. That is how responsibility works. It lies within the individual. We may say to ourselves, 'How can I make a difference in this world? I'm only one out of billions!' But, if each and every one of us tries to show responsible actions, they will all build up, like the individual walls that finally produced the one great wall."
Jong-Hyuk Woo, New Providence High New Providence, New Jersey

"We need to stop using ignorance as an excuse for not getting involved. If there were more people who devoted a little time towards the problems of today we would be a lot better off. I can only pray that by the time my grandchildren are my age, people will have more respect for other people, and that people [will be] able to look beyond things like color, religion and what state of health they are in and see that we all need someone to stick behind us."
Tricia Holum, Rolla High School, Rolla, North Dakota

"As a student in a small town high school, I am not exposed to the slums and violence in the larger city. However, I do feel a responsibility to help the country, as should everyone who expects the government to help them if they ever have the need."
Lisa Wharton, Marion High School, Marion, South Dakota

"I feel responsibility comes from within one's self and it's just a matter of answering to it. I feel everyone knows what they're responsible for, but they just don't accept the responsibility."
Dylan Knowles, Antietam High School, Reading, Pennsylvania

"Responsibility doesn't start at school or with friends. It starts at home, within ourselves. If you want something done right, you have to make it a goal to do it by yourself and you should keep doing it until you're done."
Florencio Ramos, Jr. , Richmond High School, Richmond, Illinois

"In my opinion responsible behavior is going out of your way to help someone in need and giving back to your community."
Chad Hart, Meadow Bridge High School, Meadow Bridge, West Virginia

"How can we make people take responsibility? By taking it ourselves, that's