ABA Journal - February 2009

OBITER DICTA

BY BRIAN SULLIVAN

HUMANE HASSLE

Compassionate Homeowner Shows His Stripes by Helping Sweltering Skunk Keep Its Cool

Ryan Turner had every right to raise a stink about a skunk attempting to take up residence in his residence in South Salt Lake, Utah. After it scavenged his groceries and sprayed its universally identifiable scent under his bed, Turner requested that the city remove the malodorous marauder.

The city responded by offering to drop off a trap for a $50 deposit, but Turner’s girlfriend declined. It just so happens, though, that

the neighboring property is a city-owned lot. Turner talked to employees there, and they agreed to put out a trap on a Friday afternoon in August. The animal was captured that evening.

Over the weekend, Turner is alleged to have moved the trap from the city lot into his yard, saying he wanted to put the overheated animal in shade until Monday, when it would be retrieved. That’s when the city stepped in.

After an animal control officer reported the trap missing, Turner was cited for criminal trespass; he reportedly faces fines of more than

$600. After a court appearance in November, Turner

was scheduled for trial on Jan. 8.

In spite of his legal woes, Turner seems to harbor no ill will toward the striped stinker. “I’d rather be in the situation I’m in now,” he told the Salt Lake Tribune, “than not do anything.”

EXUBERANT OR EXHIBITIONIST?

Despite Townsfolk Talking Trash, Dancing Queen Is Now Flush with Cash

According to the most recent U.S. census, the tiny town of Marshall, N.C. (population 842), has about 75 males for every 100 females. So a woman who appears to be trying to improve her odds is likely to be met with resistance of one type or another.

In December 2000, Rebecca Willis attended the weekly dance at the Marshall Depot community center. Willis, then 56, is said to have been dressed, shall we say, less conservatively than other women in attendance, and she danced with exuberance and a bit of abandon.

Some say more than a bit.

Willis received a letter from the town’s mayor informing her that she was banned for life from returning to the Depot. Her case was eventually taken up by the American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina Legal Foundation. Jon Sasser of Ellis & Winters in Raleigh, who handled the case for the ACLU, says townspeople were less than forthcoming in regard to details about the night in question.

“They came up with one lie after another” in depositions, he says. “They were basically a bunch of old ladies who don’t like to see anyone else having fun.”

During more than six years, the case made its way through two district courts and two courts of appeal. Asheville attorney Larry Leake, who represented Marshall, says the town prevailed on seven of the eight issues raised by the plaintiff.

But in May, a three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals at Richmond, Va., said the case could proceed to trial on the basis of equal protection. At that point, the town’s insurance carrier decided to settle rather than incur more litigation expenses. Willis was paid $275,000.