Theos-Talk Archives (April 1998 Message tl00006)

got this off the news wire.

Now we can really worry about JRC

Chuck the Heretic

BOZEMAN, Mont. (AP) - A man is suing a weekly newspaper and the court system
for libel after a computer glitch transformed a report of a traffic ticket
into a conviction for deviate sexual conduct. 

``I've heard every sheep joke you can imagine,'' Cody Johnston, 22, said
Tuesday. 

Johnston is seeking unspecified damages. 

Johnston said he learned of the mistake from his parents, who read it in the
High Country Independent Press. He said he told them it wasn't true, but they,
his wife and his sister concluded he was in denial, and urged him to seek
treatment. 

``It was bad,'' Johnston said. ``You can imagine what was going through their
minds, and of course, they didn't believe me.'' 

Johnston had been fined $195 for a commercial trucking weight violation. But
the list given to the newspaper contained the sex charge, which covers
homosexual acts and bestiality. 

Independent Press editor Devon Hubbard Sorlie said that the mistake was
unfortunate and that the weekly promptly ran a prominent correction when
Johnston's father pointed out the error. 

But Johnston contends the newspaper and the Gallatin County Justice Court had
a duty to check the material for accuracy.