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Steve Noe in Indianapolis had this to say on July 6: “This past spring semester, one of my adjuncts was
_formally_ accused of sexual harassment for dropping a list of CN jingles (of a
questionable nature) at the lab-bench next to a student. The particular
adjunct was officially reprimanded by our human resources department (IMO for poor
judgment more than anything else.) The printout was made by another
student, and that name on the sheet of paper is the only thing that saved the
day.” The reason I asked him if the dropping of the paper was
accidental is the following: The US Supreme Court ruled, in a case involving Bono,
Paris Hilton, Nicole Richie, the Billboard Music Awards, and the FCC, that accidently
using the “f-bomb” on live TV holds no liability so long as there
is no sexual context. The Supremes noted that both George W. Bush and Dick
Cheney have used the words publicly and on broadcast media, apparently at times
when they thought they were speaking in private. Therefore, since other public
figures made the same mistakes the two “Simple Life” actresses and
the rock star had, the performers could not themselves be fined. This morning I asked a property lawyer to look at Steve’s
case since paper is property. His first response was an honest reply: “I
don’t know” but then said that the Supreme Court ruling might NOT help
the faculty member since the offending paper had BEEN LAST IN THE FACULTY
MEMBER’S HANDS and it was, therefore, to the professor’s liability. I realize that almost anything involving Paris Hilton and
the Supreme Court suggests a hoax, but I assure you that I have cited true law.
Possibly the whole paper expletive thing might percolate through the federal
courts but right now, it looks like there is a distinction between the spoken
and the written word. In any case, I stand by the statement of the “Hill
Street Blues’” captain: “Be careful out there.” An earlier account of the Hilton/Richie/Bono case can be
found here: http://www.cnn.com/2003/LAW/12/23/findlaw.analysis.hilden.indecency/ |