Re: Peter May On The Mercer Trial

[j.hironaka@unesco.org]

                                Deadlines set in suit against Mercer,
                                others

                                By Peter May, Globe Staff, 05/20/99

                                A federal judge yesterday set
                                deadlines for depositions and
                                other motions in a woman's civil rights
                                suit against Celtics guard Ron Mercer,
                                former Celtic Chauncey Billups, and a
                                friend of Celtics forward Antoine Walker.
                                The case, however, will not go to trial
                                until well into next year.

                                Mercer, Billups, and Michael Irvin are
                                charged by a plaintiff whose name has not
                                been made public in a case filed a year
                                ago. Documents have been sealed and
                                impounded, but yesterday's routine
                                scheduling conference before Judge Richard
                                Stearns was open to the public. No
                                criminal charges are pending against the
                                three.

--------

Hi, can someone define which of the "woman's civil rights" were affected by
Mercer and Billups alleged rape, as reported in the lead sentence? I wish the
reporter would answer the ambiguities he raises in his article. It's a first
rule of journalism.

According to May's article, a woman charges "she was taken to a bedroom and
RAPED (my emphasis)" by the men yet "no criminal charges are pending". Huh?

Even without the potential winning lawsuit or settlement, I believe life can
be far worse than what this young lady may have gone through (being cornered
by tall, athletic celebrities in a presumably fancy home). I hope it is
v.clear BTW that I'm distinguishing these charges from the actual charge of
rape, which (duh) is the most violent act short of murder and mutilation and
one of the best reasons for men to want to avoid spending ANY length of time
in a prison.

The point of my post is to ask how this case won merit as a "civil rights
violation". There must be something in civil rights law to aid her, or else
the judge would have thrown the case out. For example, would it be relevant if
she were a member of a minority group (like WASP students at MIT and Harvard)?
Silly me, I wish for once I actually followed the OJ Simpson civil suit. None
of this makes sense to me. I don't understand the Tony Battie situation
either.

In practice, are civil rights suits just a legal way to bring shame and
embarrassment etc. to people, whether or not it holds any merit as an actual
civil rights violation? Or did Peter May make an error in describing the
lawsuit as a "civil rights" case? I know there are lawyers and judges on this
list.