Bill Bickel’s Crimeweek

An Arkansas couple is suing McDonald’s for $3 million after the husband left his cell phone – containing nude photos of his wife – in one of their restaurants. He called the restaurant manager and was assured the phone would be held for him until he could come and get it, later to discover that the photos had been posted (along with the couple’s names, address and phone number) on the Internet.

The wife began receiving offensive phone calls and text messages, and the couple eventually had to move. The lawsuit claims they suffered emotional distress, embarrassment and damage to their reputations, and they also contend that McDonald’s should pay for their moving expenses.

Every newspaper account I’ve seen includes the couple’s full names and town. I’m of two minds about this: On one hand, this moves their embarrassment to a national level. On the other hand, they made the decision to sue McDonald’s over a situation for which they were primarily at fault, and that’s what made teh story newsworthy.

The photos were removed from the web site but, because of the nature of the Internet, they have already spread to countless other sites and will likely remain available forever.

Be honest: Under similar circumstances, you’d be tempted to do exactly what Judge Robert Restaino did: On March 11, 2005, when the Niagara Fall, NY judge was hearing a slate of domestic abuse cases, the proceedings were interrupted by the ringing of a cell phone. He demanded that the phone be handed over to him — and when nobody complied, he swore that “every single person is going to jail” unless he got the phone. (more…)

It’s difficult to imagine a more dangerous distraction than sending out and receiving text messages on a cell phone while driving – and remarkably, according to a survey by Nationwide Insurance, 20% of all drivers do it.

In how many states is this illegal? Only one, Washington.

Laws are under debate in several states including New Jersey, where Governor Jon Corzine was almost killed earlier this year in an accident caused by his driver speeding along the highway at 91 mph while text messaging.

What’s truly remarkable is that this warrants debate at all. What’s the opposing argument: The state has no business telling people not to drive a multi-ton vehicle at high speeds while using a device that requires one or both hands and the driver’s eyes to be focused for prolonged periods on a small screen? This makes the distraction of talking on a cell phone pale in comparison.

MIRS, an Israeli telecommunications company, is marketing what they call a “Kosher phone”: a cell phone that’s been modified to disable internet access, text messaging, voice mail, and video (I’m old enough to remember another name for this: “telephone”), as a means of barring anything that could offend or conflict with the values of the ultra-Orthodox Jewish community.In addition, MIRS is offering reduced rates for calls within their network, and much higher rates for outside calls.

It should be interesting to see whether this idea gets copied by other religious groups in other parts of the world.