Techdirt. Stories filed under "dui" Easily digestible tech news... http://www.techdirt.com/ en-us Techdirt. Stories filed under "dui"http://www.techdirt.com/images/td-88x31.gifhttp://www.techdirt.com/ Fri, 28 Sep 2012 14:33:00 PDT Judge Orders Woman To Delete Her Facebook Page For Typing LOL About Her DUI Mike Masnick http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20120923/22240020482/judge-orders-woman-to-delete-her-facebook-page-typing-lol-about-her-dui.shtml http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20120923/22240020482/judge-orders-woman-to-delete-her-facebook-page-typing-lol-about-her-dui.shtml Tim K gets the hat tip for being first), but just getting around to it now. Apparently, a woman named Paula Asher, who hit a car while driving under the influence, was ordered by the judge in the case to delete her Facebook account, after she typed the following status message on her Facebook page:
"My dumb bass got a DUI and I hit a car...LOL"
The judge seemed to take the "LOL" statement literally -- that she was "laughing out loud" at her drunk driving accident -- and ordered her to delete her Facebook account. She then ignored that order, leading to a contempt of court charge and jail time. I have no problem with her facing punishment for the drunk driving, but being told to delete her Facebook page seems extreme on a variety of levels. First, the literal interpretation of "LOL" is a bit unfair, considering in context how many people use the term today. Rather than literally meaning that they're "laughing out loud," it's often an expression of exasperation at a situation people find themselves in. Many people seem to use it more as punctuation to a statement they make, rather than as an accurate description of what they're doing.

But, even beyond that, it seems wrong to order the deletion of an entire Facebook account over one off-hand statement like that. Facebook had nothing to do with this woman's drunk driving -- which, again, she should be punished for. I could even see reason to up the level of punishment for potentially showing a lack of remorse or recognition of the seriousness of her crime. But forcing someone to delete their entire Facebook account, when it's a key way that many people communicate today, seems extreme. Facebook didn't make Asher drive drunk. Nor did it make her not show remorse afterward. Forcing her to shut it down completely seems to go beyond reasonable.

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]]> extreme-measures http://www.techdirt.com/comment_rss.php?sid=20120923/22240020482 Tue, 21 Jun 2011 15:51:13 PDT Caught With A DUI In New Jersey? You Can Now Blame The Bar That Served You Mike Masnick http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20110619/23462714749/caught-with-dui-new-jersey-you-can-now-blame-bar-that-served-you.shtml http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20110619/23462714749/caught-with-dui-new-jersey-you-can-now-blame-bar-that-served-you.shtml techinabox writes in to point out the latest in ridiculously misapplied third party liability. It appears that in New Jersey, if you get good and drunk at a bar, and then hop in your car and get into legal trouble for driving under the influence (DUI), you can blame the bar for serving you... and win. The state supreme court said that it's perfectly reasonable for Fredrick Voss to sue the bar that served him drinks, even though he was the one who drove to the bar on his motorcycle, drank a bunch, and then got back on his motorcycle after drinking, drove off, ran a red light and got into an accident. A lower court still needs to determine if the bar actually is liable, but the supreme court seems to have no issue with holding bars liable in such situations. It's pretty scary that we keep seeing stories concerning attempts to stretch third party liability. Beyond blaming the wrong party, third party liability only serves to take responsibility off the parties actual responsible. It's a bad idea... but one that seems to be getting more and more popular.

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