The Indiana Law Blog reports that the Indiana Supreme Court heard arguments in the case Penn Harris Madison vs. Howard regarding the standard of care owed to a student. Howard was a student injured during a school production of Peter Pan. The trial court issued a verdict for Howard. The school appealed and now the case is before the Indiana Supreme Court.
The Indiana Law Blog quotes a South Bend Tribune story explaining the case:
The school's defense is based on a legal theory called standard of care, which also applies in Howard's case.
Essentially, P-H-M says Howard should have exercised the same degree of care that an adult would have exercised when he attached a harness to a cable to simulate flight across a stage.
But Howard's lawyer says that's too strict a standard, even though Indiana trial rules have long applied the adult standard of care to minors above the age of 14. * * *
The hearing involved a brief history of Indiana's standard of care rule, often called the "rule of sevens." Rooted in biblical injunctions, the rule assigns greater or lesser responsibility to children depending on if they are younger than 7, younger than 14 or older than 14.
Noting the rule's biblical origin, Justice Frank Sullivan Jr. asked Shannon L. Robinson, P-H-M's lawyer, why it should apply. "Maybe my question is, should we follow the Bible?"
Answer: "My question is, should we follow 90 years of precedent in this court?"
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