skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Friday, March 29, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina's congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Mayorkas.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Attorney: Most People Don't Understand "Hot Coffee" Case

play audio
Play

Monday, December 9, 2013   

MADISON, Wis. - Most people have huge misconceptions about the famous McDonald's "hot coffee" case, according to attorney and former Mississippi Supreme Court Justice Oliver Diaz. On Dec. 6, Diaz, who figures prominently in a movie about the case, "Hot Coffee," was in Milwaukee, talking to other lawyers about misconceptions the public has regarding the civil justice system.

Diaz said the woman who made the film is a trial lawyer who kept getting the same questions from potential jurors, so she decided to make a movie.

"These juries would always have questions about this crazy case: 'Is this one of those crazy lawsuits like the McDonald's case where you spill coffee and make a billion dollars?', he said. "She got tired of having to answer this question and explain to people that what they thought they knew was not what happened."

The movie attempts to explain what really happened in that famous case and several others, Diaz said, when the civil justice system itself came under attack from large corporations. Diaz noted that watching the film can be a very powerful experience.

"People, after they view the film, it sort of motivates them; they want to do something" he said. "They want to get out there and say, 'I don't want to allow our justice system to be taken over.'"

The film is available for purchase on DVD and can be seen on NetFlix. Group showings of the film may be arranged by contacting the Wisconsin Association for Justice (WAJ) in Madison, 608-257-5741. WAJ can schedule an attorney to show the film and lead discussion afterwards.

The film also touches on the impact of huge corporate contributions to political campaigns. Diaz was the victim of such an attack. He blasted negative political ads, particularly in judicial races such as those in Wisconsin, where the voters are not as familiar with judges as they are with politicians.

"Sometimes, these 30-second negative ads are the only information that a voter will get about a judge, so these ads will actually define the judges," Diaz explained. "It's much more effective in judicial races to run these negative ads and kick out judges who have served a very long time."



get more stories like this via email

more stories
The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments this week about the popular abortion pill Mifepristone and will weigh in on whether the U.S. Food and Drug Administration was correct in how it can be dosed and prescribed. (Ascannio/Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Missouri residents are worried about future access to birth control. The latest survey from The Right Time, an initiative based in Missouri…


Social Issues

play sound

Wisconsin children from low-income families are now on track to get nutritious foods over the summer. Federal officials have approved the Badger …

Social Issues

play sound

Almost 2,900 people are unsheltered on any given night in the Beehive State. Gov. Spencer Cox is celebrating signing nine bills he says are geared …


The U.S. teaching workforce remains primarily white while the percentage of Black teachers has declined. However, the percentage of Asian and Latinx teachers is rising.(WavebreakMediaMicro/Adobestock)

Social Issues

play sound

Education advocates are calling on lawmakers to increase funding for programs to combat the teacher shortage. Around 37% of schools nationwide …

Environment

play sound

New York's Legislature is considering a bill to get clean-energy projects connected to the grid faster. It's called the RAPID Act, for "Renewable …

Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021