re: Jury awards $18 to innocent black man who was punched, tasered and arrested

Clickbait title and you conveniently left out this part of the story.

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In civil rights lawsuits, damages are usually measured by medical bills, lost wages, property damage, post-traumatic stress, psychological treatment, impairment and others, Agostino said. But in this case, no such evidence was presented, so the jury awarded the plaintiffs the default amount of $1, he said.

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This is a story about a piss poor lawyer period.

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Clickbait title and you conveniently left out this part of the story.

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"No such evidence was presented" is a comment from the defense attorney. Of course that is what he'll say, and it may be correct, but you have to take it with a grain of salt considering the source.

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I'm not positive, but I believe he is referencing the attorney fees for the defendant that could be passed on to the plaintiff.

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I don't think the defendants can claim any fees, they weren't the prevailing party.

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I would wager that this is more money than his entire household makes in two years and it would be flushed away within a month in any event.

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You know it isn't the blatant racism that bothers me quite as much as the pure ignorance...

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DeShawn Franklin now works at the University of Notre Dame, where he sets up equipment and moves furniture. He plans to attend a community college to pursue a general studies degree or possibly study business.

He said the meager settlement he and his family received is hard for him to accept, but it is also out of his control.

“No one would feel it’s appropriate for your constitutional rights to be valued at a dollar,” he said. “I can’t really say how much it would be worth, but no one’s life is really worth that amount of money, you know.”

All he can do now, he said, is move on.

“You got to still get up and try to make the best of every situation you have,” he said.

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That is the plaintiff. He has a job and has refused to be on camera. He isn't personally searching for attention. I understand it is difficult for you to put aside your prejudice and racism, but it is quite plausible that Mr. Franklin is a perfectly normal, hard-working American tax payer whose civil rights were blatantly violated. The fact that he is black doesn't preclude any of those things.

So after attorney's fees and court costs the man will likely get about $3.50. I'd say he got blindsided by that award.

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The only issue seems to be a piss-poor presentation of damages or a piss-poor jury.

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i agree

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You do realize you dont have to automatically be against the black man's side right

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That dude clearly does not realize that.

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slackster

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i wouldn't even waste my time

The racist undertones on this board are all over the place and you can usually see a pattern of the same posters. It's funny because they always have their canned arguments to tell you how they aren't racist. Also just look at the quick upvotes an obvious racist post will get and downvotes anyone calling out a racist post gets.

I'd have much more respect for the racist If they would just own it. But I wonder if they actually struggle with the racism and actually deny the truth to themselves.

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is a stereotypical remark a racist remark?

Serious question

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Not necessarily, but combine it with some hyperbole and yes, it is. The median black household income is $33k. The previous poster just wanted to get in his shots because they were black, plain and simple.