[Mike]

Originally Posted by PeteG

I have the same impression. Lots of people who have never been inside a courtroom, and are therefore unfamiliar with the stress, aggravation, tedium, economic costs and, most important, the EVER-PRESENT POSSIBILITY OF AN ADVERSE RESULT inherent in any law suit, are howling like this is the Steelers against the Browns. It is childish, and in some instances downright obnoxious.

People with lots of experience, and the scars to prove it, are viturally uninimous in thier opinion that even a good law suit is a bad thing to have.

The police made a number of mistakes, including, but by no means limited to, detaining people for open carry. The people who were affected have decided to redress the situation with a law suit. That's thier option, and although it was not the only choice it is a legitimate and respectable choice. I precidt they will substantially prevail on the merits of their claims. I also think they will probably spend more than they will recover, but that will nevertheless be worth it to them.

It is also more than a theoretical possibility they will lose. It is very, very difficult to recover against police officers in a jury trial under civil rights or common law tort theories of recovery.

In the meantime, all the ranting from the peanut gallery about police losing their jobs and the Township going broke and so forth is appearing in the public media, and detracting from the dignity of what the plaintiffs are trying to do. It certainly is not helping anything.

So, for you guys who have never been willing to so much as inconvenience yourself, let alone take on a real fight ("From around my dead, cold hands - asterisk - so long as I don't have to spend any money, miss any work or risk getting on any lists"), and are now enjoying some kind of vicarious power trip, here's an idea: STFU. You are making fools of yourselves.

Since when are lawsuits a bad choice? It's the American way! Your choice to cave-in when faced with oppression is silly.

BTW, these lawsuits will never go to trial, and the City will settle and pay and probably agree to an injunction against doing this crap in the future, and I doubt any of the Plaintiffs are on the hook for attoreys' fees - the police misconduct was so egregious that the case was ripe for a contingency arrangement.