The famous case Riss v New York tells the story of Linda Riss and Burton Pugach who eventually got married even after he hired a thug to throw lye in her face. The case is about the concept of a limited duty of care of the state to provide police protection or whether the state should be liable for failing to provide police protection to a specific person. The real life story of the main characters is now the subject of a documentary called Crazy Love. Here is the trailer:
UPDATE 1-26-13: Linda Riss passed away this week and The New York Times published a short article on her life (here).
I saw this documentary immediately after it came out on DVD; it's one of my favorites. It's darkly comedic, but it also struck me as quite sad that Linda Riss had to marry Burt on account of what essentially was a lack of any other option.
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This is the kind of thing I love to reference when my father asks me what I'm learning in law school. :) It's such a crazy thing to try and wrap your head around. I can't help but put myself in her shoes when I think about it! It's interesting to think about marrying him as a "lack of any other option," as well.
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