Tobacco punitive damages ruling [FL SC] News
Tobacco punitive damages ruling [FL SC]

Howard M. Engle MD et al. v. Liggett Group, Supreme Court of Florida, July 6, 2006 [rejecting a record-setting jury verdict that had awarded $145 billion in punitive damages in a class action challenge brought by smokers against tobacco companies as "excessive as a matter of law"]. Read the full text of the opinion [PDF]. Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here,

THIS DAY @ LAW

Anti-apartheid activist Stephen Biko died in police custody

On September 12, 1977, South African anti-apartheid activist Stephen Biko died in police custody after having suffered a massive head injury during interrogation following his arrest. The story of journalist Donald Woods' investigation into the circumstances of Biko's death was the basis of the 1987 film Cry Freedom.

Read an address on Stephen Biko delivered by then-South African President Nelson Mandela on the 20th anniversary of Biko's death in 1997.

Supreme Court unanimously rejects state challenge Brown v. Board of Education

On September 12, 1958, the Supreme Court unanimously rejected a state government challenge to Brown vs. The Board of Education of Topeka Kansas, which had overturned segregation. In Cooper vs. Aaron, the State Government of Arkansas challenged the authority of the Court to implement desegregation. The Court responded by forcefully re-asserting its authority and the authority of the federal government over the states.