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Show j " THE READERS COURTROOM 1 'Bum' Is No Slander to Tensnt j I By Will Bernard, LL.B. 1 '! Is it Slander to Call j A Man a "Bum" I An apartment house tenant had a I strong dislike for several of the j other occupants. As time went by, i all of them moved out except one. j When he met this last holdout in i the back yard one day, the tenant exclaimed: "You are the last of I YOU ARE THE LAST OF -p i i . ? . .. I I .THE BUM TENANTS iri I If a Cat Kills a Canary, Must The Cat's Owner Pay Damages? A woman's cat took a strong dislike dis-like to a singing canary, kept in the parlor of the house next door. One evening the cat slipped into the neighbor's house, stole into the parlor, par-lor, and silenced the canary forever. for-ever. The neighbor sued the woman for damages, claiming that she must pay for the evil deed done by her pet. However, the court ruled that the woman was not responsible. respon-sible. The judge pointed out that this was an ordinary, peaceful cat, with no special tendency to be vicious. He added that a cat's owner own-er should not be blamed just because be-cause the animal occasionally may revert to his "wild nature." After a Convict Serves His Sentence, May He be Forced to Leave the Vicinity? A convicted criminal served his term in the state penitentiary and was duly discharged. He soon found a job in a gas station near the prison. One day, he was arrested ar-rested again. It seems there was a state law requiring discharged convicts to leave the county within with-in 24 hours after their release. the bum tenants In this building!" The other man sued for damages, saying that he had been slandered by being described as a "bum." However, the court denied his claim. The judge said that, so long as no tangible harm was done, the word "bum" wasn't such a serious accusation after all! May All Children be Forced To Go to Public Schools? A state law was passed requiring all students between the ages of 8 and 16 to attend public schools. A private school promptly filed a test case, claiming that such a law was unconstitutional. The state officials explained that they wished to give the same kind of education to all children. However, the court ! ; held the law unconstitutional, vio lating "the liberty of parents to direct the upbringing and education educa-tion of their children." The judge said the state had no power "to standardize its children by forcing them to accept instruction from public school teachers only." 1 However, at the trial, the court held the law unconstitutional and ordered the man freed. The judge said it was unfair to impose this i-dditional restraint on a man "after be has paid his debt to society." |
