CASES IN THE NEWS

Couple of interesting cases gleamed from the Chicago Sun Times over the last week or so...

First, you may recall Michael Flatley, the Irish-American dancing machine, being accused of rape in a civil lawsuit filed last year by Illinois lawyer Dean Mauro. Shortly after Mauro filed suit, some facts came to light that, well, didn't exactly help his client's case. First, it turned out the woman had filed a fondling claim against a Naperville doctor in 2001. Then it came to light that she had called Las Vegas Police from Illinois to report the alleged crime some 25 days after the alleged attack. Not exactly an immediate outcry. Finally, an eyewitness testified she had seen the accuser kiss Flatley on the cheek the morning after she had spent the night in his room and overheard the accuser tell Flatley she hoped to see him again. Oops - tough to prove an alleged rape case with that kind of testimony. Flatley, who was single at the time, insisted the sex was consensual. While the civil case was on-going, Mauro had threatened to publicize the claim to national and international media. In one letter, Mauro had written that "We are positive that media worldwide will enjoy what they find". Flatley decided to fight back and sued the accuser, Tyna Marie Robertson and Mauro for extortion. Shortly thereafter, the civil case was very quietly dropped. No real shocker there. But Flatley wasn't going away. He pressed on with the extortion claim and Mauro had attempted to get the extortion case dismissed, claiming his statements were protected as free speech. The motion was apparently denied, and the case was heard by the California appellate Court. The Court held that Mauro's written and oral threats amounted to extortion, and as a result, were not protected speech. Flatley has indicated he intends to return from Ireland to watch the trial if it goes forward in California. The above facts demonstrate how every now and then, that high profile case can go very, very, very wrong.

And another interesting article about some anti-drunken driving device out of Norristown, Pa. The device is called an ignition interlock and calls for the driver to blow a series of sober breaths before the car can be started. Jason Reali, claims that he blew so hard during one test that he actually passed out and crashed into a tree and he severely injured his hand. I know what you are thinking - he was sober. The story does raise some interesting questions though. The device supposedly precludes the drunk driver from driving. But allows the car to be operational after the driver, exhausted from blowing so hard, passes out? Sounds like some kinks need to be worked out of this thing.