Litigation

Catsouras v. Department of California Highway Patrol

By Ted Frank

Within fifteen minutes of 18-year-old Nikki Catsouras stealing her father's Porsche, she (perhaps under the influence of cocaine) decapitated herself when she smashed into a California State Route 241 tollbooth at 100 mph. Two California Highway Patrol officers released some of the accident photos (as they often do to emphasize the horrific consequences of unsafe driving), some Internet ghouls were less than polite about them, and now Catsouras's wealthy family wants $20 million from California taxpayers for the release of the public records—and a California appellate court has permitted the case to proceed. The Catsourases apparently have excellent public relations, because the media is unceasingly sympathetic to their suit (failing to distinguish between California's actions and the anonymous Internet abusers' actions), even as the Streisand effect has resulted in far more dissemination of the gruesome photos (NSFW). [LA Times; ABC News; CBS News; Newsweek; compare Randazza]

Full post as published by Point of Law on May 18, 2010 (boomark / email).