Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Jury says rancher didn't violate migrants' rights

It's so refreshing when the courts act with sanity. Lucky it was a jury trial as a judges verdict is purely a crap shoot.
TUCSON, Ariz. — A jury in Tucson has found that a southern Arizona rancher didn't violate the civil rights of a group of illegal immigrants who claimed he detained them at gunpoint in 2004. The federal jury also found Roger Barnett wasn't liable on claims of battery and false imprisonment. But the jury did find him liable Tuesday on four claims of assault and four claims of infliction of emotional distress. The jurors ordered Barnett to pay nearly $78,000 in damages. The bulk of that is punitive.

No comments: