Can superheroes( those registered under the SHRA) be sued?

[Fantasyartist]

I know that the Civil War is receding into the past( the one between Marvel's heroes NOT the "War Between The States" that is), but one issue remains as yet unresolved.

Can superheroes( those registered under the SHRA) that is, be sued?

This is far from an idle point. In reality ( Jones v. Clinton), the US Supreme Court ruled that a President could be sued for acts occurring before his accession to the White House( Paula Jones was a former Arkansas state employee who alleged that then-Governor Bill Clinton had sexually harassed her; the case was later settled out of court). Granted, those heroes registered under the SHRA may have been effectively deputized by the Federal authorities, but they are still NOT covered by "sovereign immunity".
This may not matter to the likes of the Avengers who can afford the best legal talent around due to Tony Stark, but for those like Spider-Man or the X-Men( NO "deep pockets") this is a matter of concern

Anybody notice this anomaly yet?

Terry

 

[3dman27]

i would think they COULD BE SUED

 

[Darthphere]

I know that the Civil War is receding into the past( the one between Marvel's heroes NOT the "War Between The States" that is), but one issue remains as yet unresolved.

Can superheroes( those registered under the SHRA) that is, be sued?

This is far from an idle point. In reality ( Jones v. Clinton), the US Supreme Court ruled that a President could be sued for acts occurring before his accession to the White House( Paula Jones was a former Arkansas state employee who alleged that then-Governor Bill Clinton had sexually harassed her; the case was later settled out of court). Granted, those heroes registered under the SHRA may have been effectively deputized by the Federal authorities, but they are still NOT covered by "sovereign immunity".
This may not matter to the likes of the Avengers who can afford the best legal talent around due to Tony Stark, but for those like Spider-Man or the X-Men( NO "deep pockets") this is a matter of concern

Anybody notice this anomaly yet?

Terry

Ahem, Warren Worthington the Third.

Also, you'll have to be more specific, what are they being sued for exactly?

And, we have a stupid question thread. Not saying your question is stupid, but yeah, there's a thread.

 

[SuperFerret]

There is precedence in the MU for costumed heroes to testify as witnesses in court (even the masked ones), thus I'd think that they could be sued also, despite their secret identities.

 

[Darthphere]

That was before the SHRA. It was meant to believe that the SHRA would train heroes, give them licenses and in a way, take responsibility for their actions. Be it property damage or what not. That's pretty much the crux of the SHRA. I mean, let's think of it this way, a soldier can be court marshalled and be sent to the brig, but the family of the person he killed can't sue him. He's already faced his punishment from the entity that employed him.

 

[SuperFerret]

Good point. That makes the most sense.

 

[Darthphere]

Now, as to the question of the stuff he did before the SHRA was put in to place, it's also meant that most heroes would get a clean slate as to their previous actions. Hence why the SHRA and CSA can employ people like Taskmaster and the Thunderbolts.

 

[fifthfiend]

Police/police departments can be sued for wrongful death in cases of excessive force or otherwise inappropriate conduct. Presumably this would work the same way.

 

[Franklin Richards]

Matt Murdock and Jennifer Walters will get the heroes out of trouble and counter sue.

 

[fifthfiend]

Matt Murdock and Jennifer Walters will get the heroes out of trouble and counter sue.

Pffft, Matt'll be like "Go swing on a rope, sellouts."

And Jennifer Walters doesn't give a **** anymore.

 

[Xofenroht]

Something tells me that excessive force would be a major issue in the super hero legal department. They'd probably have to gauge the power level of the criminal suspect against that of the super law enforcement agent.

I wonder if Marvel plans on tackling corruption in their super hero community, now that the SHRA is established. Wait, they've done that already right?

 

[lowly marvelite]

Yep. Much easier to make a lawsuit stick if a criminal charge has been filed and establised. You 'betcha...

 

[Manic]

Pffft, Matt'll be like "Go swing on a rope, sellouts."

And Jennifer Walters doesn't give a **** anymore.

Actually, she was disbarred.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

She totally still gives a ****, too. That's what Peter David's first arc has been all about.

 

[iloveclones]

I see cases where individual cops are sued all the time. I think it depends on whether they were following policy or going outside of it as to whether the individual or the city gets sued. I'd imagine it would work the same with the SHRA. (By the way, good luck suing the federal government...)

 

[TheCorpulent1]

In the case of cops, if all the cop shows I've watched hold true, the department can protect them to an extent, but there are times when they'll also hang individuals out to dry for political reasons or if the crime is too heinous. I just watched the series finale of The Wire last night, so the idea of prosecuting cops is still quite fresh in my mind.

 

[iloveclones]

There was a real-life case here that a couple of state cops were being sued for wrongful death, and I'm almost certain it was the individuals being sued, not the State Cops.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Yeah. It seems to be a pretty complicated system between disciplining their own people via Internal Affairs, putting individuals out to be prosecuted by the state or city or victims or whomever, and using the organization as a whole to actively shield people. I imagine there's a lot of politics involved.

 

[iloveclones]

And this was a kid, too. So the politics become even more intense.

 

[Fantasyartist]

First of all-as to what they (superheroes/heroines) might be sued for- excessive use of force( even though Spider-Man or Captain America-to say nothing of Iron Man or Thor- usually pulls their punches when taking on a mugger, their strength levels are such that the forces of their blows still HURTS way more than those of an "ordinary"person. I once read a marvel comic where Thor used his hammer to knock somebody unconscious and i always wondered why it didn't crack the person's skull the way a sledgehammer does to an egg), invasion of privacy( how many times has Spider-Man/Daredevil/Wolverine entered somebody's home without invitation), reckless endangerment of civilians whilst fighting some supervillian, wilful destruction of private property et al.
Perhaps the Feds could initate "immunity agreements" for superheroes doing their business similar to those for the International Criminal Court?

Terry

 

[TheCorpulent1]

That runs counter to the whole point of the SHRA, which was to create some form of accountability for heroes.

 

[Fantasyartist]

That runs counter to the whole point of the SHRA, which was to create some form of accountability for heroes.

Dear The Corpulent1

i disagree- what I meant was freedom from "frivolous or politically motivated lawsuits" against superheroes doing their lawful duty- just as another poster noted a soldier can be court martialled by his superiors but NOT charged with murder for killing an enemy soldier in wartime.

Terry

 

[iloveclones]

But a soldier can be tried in Civil and Criminal Court when his/her actions affect the general citizenry. In other words, I doubt that they are going to extend the definition of "battlefield" to any place that a super-battle takes place. I think the better analogy is to cops than soldiers.

Considering how the SHRA started, I doubt that it gives them immunity from things like property damage and wrongful death. It may be that as an incentive to register, the government provides them with resources for things like property damage, and maybe even legal counsel in othey matters.

 

[DoomJester]

A soldier can be handed over to Civil and Criminal Court but those courts have no original jurisdiction if accidents occur in the midst of duty or an operation. Also, its confusing to answer because soldiers proper haven't operated on US soil in ages. I can think of a few times the National Guard was called in. But, you can't sue the Army, or a Marine, if in the course of an operation people get hurt. The US Army can feel sorry, and make a show of things, but they won't let you sue them. The Armed Forces are very insulated from little trifles like the Constitution, thats why "Don't Ask Don't Tell" was such a big deal. The army doesn't actually have to respect your rights... except for mail.

But when I say you, it confuses things, because, it isn't like the Army will come into Coral Gables anytime soon and start searching for insurgents. If you were in say, Kosovo though, and you got bombed... well, you couldn't sue the US.

So it really depends on what Registered Superheroes are. Is SHIELD like the Army? Or is like the CIA? Also, most likely, there will be a test case.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

But a soldier can be tried in Civil and Criminal Court when his/her actions affect the general citizenry. In other words, I doubt that they are going to extend the definition of "battlefield" to any place that a super-battle takes place. I think the better analogy is to cops than soldiers.

Considering how the SHRA started, I doubt that it gives them immunity from things like property damage and wrongful death. It may be that as an incentive to register, the government provides them with resources for things like property damage, and maybe even legal counsel in othey matters.

Iron Man just ripped Nighthawk a new one for leading the Defenders into a battle that resulted in loads of property damage, in fact.