Coach condones players theft of property *Updated*
- Thread starter sarge87
- Start date
knapplc
International Man of Mystery
They "stole" newspapers that are set out for free distribution? I think they're going to have a hard time making that charge stick. I could pick up every copy of the Rag I see laying around my building and it's not theft. They're free.
I can see an argument made that they lost out on possible ad revenue because fewer eyeballs will see their ads, but even then it's going to be tough to show an actual loss.
Here's hoping they recycled those papers. :thumbs
I can see an argument made that they lost out on possible ad revenue because fewer eyeballs will see their ads, but even then it's going to be tough to show an actual loss.
Here's hoping they recycled those papers. :thumbs
Just because they are marked "free," they are still the publisher's property.
The players who stole the newspapers could be charged with violating the newspaper publisher's freedom of speech rights. The crime is called suppression by theft and it is prosecutable.
The value of the papers is derived from how much it would cost to replace them. The cost submitted by the newspaper in question was $1500.
There also could also be a civil recourse for taking newspapers, even if they are free. Advertisers pay to have their ads seen by the public, and the newspaper could be sued for breach of contract.
Other convictions for stealing "free" newspapers.....
In 1996, a San Francisco police chief and two officers seized about 2,000 copies of the San Francisco Bay Times and were later ordered to pay the newspaper $5,600 for economic losses and $30,000 to its publisher for emotional distress. The case was believed to be the first in the country holding that the taking of "free" newspapers violates a publisher's civil rights.
In January 2003 in Berkeley, Calif., Mayor Tom Bates pled guilty and was fined for his role in trashing 1,000 copies of the Nov. 4, 2002, edition of the University of California at Berkeley's student newspaper, which carried an editorial endorsement of his mayoral opponent. Berkeley lawmakers later made it a crime to steal free newspapers.
In 1988, criminal charges were filed against four students at the University of Florida in connection with the confiscation of about 1,500 copies of the Florida Review.
In 1994, two journalism graduates at Penn State agreed to enter a rehabilitation program and paid the paper restitution after being charged with stealing 4,000 copies of The Lionhearted.
In 2006, more than 8,500 issues of the University of Kentucky Chronicle were stolen and three students pleaded guilty to a third-degree criminal mischief charge.
Most likely the football players involved in this incident will be charged with misdemeanor criminal mischief if charges are pursued by the County Attorney.
A person commits criminal mischief if he intentionally or knowingly damages or destroys the tangible property of the owner. Texas Penal Code Section 28.03(a). If the amount of the loss is less than $50, it is a Class C Misdemeanor; if the damage is more than $50 but less than $500, the offense is a Class B misdemeanor; and if the damage is more than $500 but less than $1500, it is a Class A misdemeanor.
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HUSKER 37
All-American
:steam I wish somebody would steal MY free newspaper that comes every Sunday.
Liters my driveway and if I don't notice it before I leave for work at "O" dark thirty on Monday, my HOA sends me hate mail.
I'm almost afraid to go away for any length of time for fear the local burglars are keeping track of lingering papers in people's driveways.
I'm tempted to wait up for them and throw the last few back...HARD! :rant
Liters my driveway and if I don't notice it before I leave for work at "O" dark thirty on Monday, my HOA sends me hate mail.
I'm almost afraid to go away for any length of time for fear the local burglars are keeping track of lingering papers in people's driveways.
I'm tempted to wait up for them and throw the last few back...HARD! :rant