The Case of the Daredevil

The Case

 

             Evel Knievel was a motorcycle stuntman who had built an international reputation through decades of daredevil feats. He rode through fire walls, flew over rattlesnakes, set world records for blasting over 14 parked buses, and spent 30 days in a coma when his 151-foot jump over the fountains of Caesar’s Palace hotel came up a few feet short. The Smithsonian Institute honored his deeds, and he built a solid reputation as a community activist and advocate for young people, using his fame to promote anti-drug programs and motorcycle safety.

         ESPN held an awards program honoring winners in extreme sports (skateboarding, surfing, and motorcycle racing), and photographed many attending celebrities. On its Web site, ESPN.com, the network featured photos from the event, including one that depicted Knievel with his right arm around his wife, Krystal, and his left arm around a young woman. The caption read, “Evel Knievel proves that you’re never too old to be a pimp.”

         The Knievels sued for defamation, claiming that the word “pimp” subjected them to hatred, contempt, and ridicule, and caused several of Evel’s former clients to stop working with him.

 

The Trial

 

The issue according to the Plaintiff is whether reasonable viewers (and reasonable jurors) might consider the material defamatory. A pimp is a criminal, and a particularly disgusting one at that. The plaintiff could easily prove that Evel Knievel has never had anything to do with such revolting conduct.

The argument for ESPN was basically:   Lighten up. This is a web site for young, hip people who watch extreme sports, use contemporary language, and possess what is known as a sense of humor.  The term pimp was not intended as a criminal accusation, nor would any reasonable viewer take it literally.   It was intended as a joke.

Questions for Discussion

1.   If this is an intentional tort, what elements must be proved by Plaintiff?

2.   Does the Defendant have any defenses?

3.   If the Plaintiff wins, what might their damages consist of and what would be the basis for the calculations of those damages?

4.  Is anyone in addition to ESPN a potential defendant?

3 assignments listed below

1.  

In a 350 word essay, compare and contrast the healthcare system of the United States with the WHO’s Millennium Development Goals. Be sure that you are providing the significant components of the US system as well as the WHO’S Millennium Development Goals.

The essay must be submitted using 12 point times new roman font double spaced in APA format. You must have at least one reference on a separate reference page. The assignment must be submitted in APA format; you do not need an abstract.

2. 

Children have always contributed to the total number of migrants crossing the southern border of the United States illegally, but in 2014, a steady overall increase in unaccompanied minors from Central America reached crisis proportions when tens of thousands of children from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras crossed the Rio Grande and overwhelmed border patrols and local infrastructure (Dart 2014).

Since legislators passed the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 in the last days of the Bush administration, unaccompanied minors from countries that do not share a border with the United States are guaranteed a hearing with an immigration judge where they may request asylum based on a “credible” fear of persecution or torture (U.S. Congress 2008). In some cases, these children are looking for relatives and can be placed with family while awaiting a hearing on their immigration status; in other cases, they are held in processing centers until the Department of Health and Human Services makes other arrangements (Popescu 2014).

The 2014 surge placed such a strain on state resources that Texas began transferring the children to Immigration and Naturalization facilities in California and elsewhere, without incident for the most part. On July 1, 2014, however, buses carrying the migrant children were blocked by protesters in Murrietta, California, who chanted, “Go home” and “We don’t want you.” (Fox News and Associated Press 2014; Reyes 2014).

A functional perspective theorist might focus on the dysfunctions caused by the sudden influx of underage asylum seekers, while a conflict perspective theorist might look at the way social stratification influences how the members of a developed country are treating the lower-status migrants from less-developed countries in Latin America. An interactionist theorist might see the significance in the attitude of the Murrietta protesters toward the migrant children.

Respond to the following questions in a 350-word essay using 12 point times new roman font double spaced: Given the fact that these children are fleeing various kinds of violence and extreme poverty, how should the U.S. government respond? Should the government pass laws granting a general amnesty? Or should it follow a zero-tolerance policy, automatically returning any and all unaccompanied minor migrants to their countries of origin so as to discourage additional immigration that will stress the already overwhelmed system? Which theoretical perspective makes the most sense to you?

3.

You are to write a short essay about the state of the world at the end of the twenty-first century by addressing the following questions:

 Will the world be in better shape at the end of the twenty-first century than it is today? Compared to the twentieth century, do you think that the twenty-first century will have more wars, environmental disasters, poverty, disease, and hope for the future? Will religion play a greater role in the lives of people in our country? Will scientists find a cure for AIDS, cancer, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, the common cold? How long will the average American live? Will a woman be President of the U.S.? Will oil fuel-based automobiles still be in existence? What about working with computers: Will computers be as smart as humans and have personalities like humans? Will humans make regular trips to other planets? Will beings that live on other planets come in contact with people here in our country? Will there be one world government ruling the entire planet and /or one worldwide religion? Which present country will be the greatest threat to the position of the United States in world affairs throughout the twenty-first century? Will the Second Coming of Jesus Christ occur sometime in the next thousand years? Will the U.S. still be a major player on the world scene? What about the impact of robotics? What about the present nuclear family form in our country?

For this essay, you will 

~ respond to the above questions with a minimum of 350 words

~use 12 point times new roman font.

~have a reference page.

~include a title page that contains your name, the class, the date.