Court suspends ban on a show by French comic
Headline Legal News
A French court has suspended a ban the city of Nantes imposed to prevent a show on Thursday night by a comic whose performances are considered anti-Semitic.
But Interior Minister Manuel Valls said he would appeal the ruling to the Council of State, France's highest administrative authority, to combat the "mechanics of hate."
The Nantes performance of Dieudonne M'Bala M'Bala would kick off a national tour by the comic, who has popularized the "quenelle" hand gesture, which Valls has criticized as an "inverted Nazi salute."
In its ruling, the court called the ban a grave attack on freedom of expression. Jacques Verdier, lawyer for Dieudonne celebrated the ruling, saying: "The show will go on tonight."
Dieudonne has been convicted more than a half-dozen times for inciting racial hatred or anti-Semitism.
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Texas Adopts Statewide Texting-While-Driving Ban
Effective September 1, 2017, Texas will become the 47th state to pass a statewide ban on texting while driving. Governor Abbott’s signing of House Bill 62 is an effort to unify Texas under a uniform ban and remedy the “patchwork quilt of regulations that dictate driving practices in Texas.”
The bill specifically prohibits drivers from reading, writing, or sending an electronic message on a device unless the vehicle is stopped. That includes texting and emailing. It does not, however, prohibit dialing a number to call someone, talking on the phone using a hands-free device, or using the phone’s GPS system.
Violations would be punishable by a fine ranging from $25 to $99, to be set by each municipality. Although penalties could rise to as much as $200 for repeat offenders.
Studies have found that a driver’s reaction time is half as much when a driver is distracted by sending or reading a text message. According to state officials, in 2015 more than 105,000 traffic accidents in Texas involved distracted driving, leading to at least 476 fatalities.