Baby Samson, Gets To Keep His Hair!!

ACLU claims victory in hair war with school
credits: The Detroit News, Yahoo News

DETROIT -- A 14-year-old student who was suspended from Old Redford Academy for keeping his hair long to uphold his religious beliefs will return to school, the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan announced today.

The school's board of directors decided last night to grant Claudius Benson, a freshman at Old Redford Academy, a religious accommodation to the school's dress code, the ACLU announced on its Web site.

School officials couldn't be immediately reached for comment.
"We're encouraged that Old Redford Academy has made the right decision," said Mark Fancher, the attorney who argued the case for the ACLU. "It is our hope that the school has recognized that no public institution or school administrator can decide what is or is not an appropriate religious belief."

Claudius was enrolled in Old Redford for three days before being expelled on Sept. 6 for violating the school's dress code requiring "closely cropped hair."
The school requires that boys wear black blazers, white shirts, ties, and "close cropped hair," with no braids, twists, or dreadlocks.

Last week, the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan won a temporary victory when Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Kathleen MacDonald ruled the boy can return to school with his hair pulled in an Afro puff pending an evidentiary hearing to evaluate the sincerity of his religious beliefs.

Alecha Benson said her family practices their own interpretation of old Jewish Law, and that the religion mandates Old Testament-length hair.
"I am just happy to be in school," Claudius said in a released statement.

McManager...didn't Louise Ogborn deserve a break that day?!

(Louise Ogbornm,l and Atty Oldfather, r)

Jury gives $6.1M to woman in strip hoax
(credits: AP)

SHEPHERDSVILLE, Ky. - A jury awarded $6.1 million Friday to a woman who was forced to strip for a search in a McDonald's back office after someone called the restaurant posing as a police officer reporting a theft.

Louise Ogborn, who was 18 during the 3 1/2-hour ordeal, was forced to undress and perform sexual acts with the boyfriend of a former assistant manager at the restaurant while the man was on the phone with the bogus caller, according to a surveillance video shown to jurors during the four-week trial.

Ogborn, now 21, sued McDonald's Corp., claiming the fast-food giant failed to warn her and other employees about the caller who already struck other McDonald's stores and other fast-food restaurants across the country. She sought $200 million in damages, but McDonald's argued the company was not responsible and was being sued because of its deep pockets.
The jury award $5 million in punitive damages and about $1.1 million in compensatory damages.
Juror Kay Parrish told reporters the amount awarded will enable Ogborn to "live well the rest of her life" and "put all this behind her."

A teary Ogborn hugged relatives after the verdict. She said she planned to use some of the money to attend law school.
"Louise has stood up for what happened to her and what McDonald's failed to do for three-and-a-half years, and this jury just vindicated her completely," said her attorney, Ann Oldfather.
McDonald's was evaluating whether to appeal the decision, a spokesman said.

"While we are disappointed with the verdict, we remain vigilant in our efforts to protect our employees and provide them with a safe and respectful workplace," said William Whitman, a spokesman for McDonald's USA.

The Associated Press generally does not identify victims of sexual abuse. Ogborn's name, however, has appeared in numerous newspaper and broadcast stories with her permission.

The caller to the Mount Washington restaurant impersonated a police officer when he gave a description of a young, female employee accused of stealing from a customer, the lawsuit said.

According to testimony, Ogborn fit the description, and the caller instructed an employee to conduct the search.

Donna Summers, a former McDonald's assistant manager who also sued the fast-food chain, led the strip search at the direction of the caller. Summers and Kim Dockery, another assistant manager, were named as defendants in Ogborn's suit, but the jury ruled they did not have to pay any damages.
Oldfather said Summers and Dockery were duped by the caller.

"Everybody is still suffering because of this, and now maybe McDonald's will suffer a little bit in the pocketbook," Oldfather said.

In deciding compensatory damages, the jury placed half the blame on McDonald's and the other half on the unnamed caller.
A Florida man, David Stewart, was acquitted last year on charges of making the hoax call. Police have said the calls stopped after Stewart's arrest.

Summers was placed on probation for a misdemeanor conviction in the case. Her former fiance, Walter Nix Jr., is serving five years in prison for sexually abusing Ogborn during the ordeal.

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Being the parent of a 19yr old, I can understand why at 18, Louise Ogborn did what she did. My child has been protected from many things (fortunately), and in her situation, she may have believed a police officer was on the phone. However, I know one thing my daughter would do is INSIST ON CALLING HER PARENTS, OR A FAMILY MEMBER. But that's my kid. My issue lays with the mcmanager.

This woman inists she did this was not a police officer. Yeah, ok.

View the clip from You Tube and judge for yourself. Ths video is NSFW (not safe for work)

click here:http://youtube.com/watch?v=UFXeXK3szOk

You better recognize, If I could have given Louise Ogborn $200m, I gladly would. No child (to me she's a child) deserves that experience.

Ivent