Mention the President, Lose a Case? Defense motion to ban George W. Bush's name at trial defeated.

Mention the President, Lose a Case?
Defense motion to ban George W. Bush's name at trial defeated

Source: Law.com
Apparently President George W. Bush is now so unpopular that some lawyers believe the mere mention of his name in front of a jury could tip the scales against them.
Attorneys Michael P. Laffey and Robert P. DiDomenicis of Holsten & Associates in Media, Pa., are defending Upper Darby Township, Pa., in a civil rights suit brought by Harold Lischner, an 82-year-old doctor who claims he was falsely arrested for displaying an anti-war sign at a Bush campaign event in September 2003.
With the case set to go to trial on July 23, the defense lawyers recently filed a flurry of motions, including one that asked Eastern District of Pennsylvania Judge Gene E.K. Pratter to prohibit the plaintiff from mentioning Bush's name.
Bush's identity, they argued, "in and of itself, presents the danger that the jury will favor plaintiff.
. . . .
(District Court Judge Gene E.K. Pratter (E.D. Pa.)) found that the message on Lischner's sign and Bush's identity, as well as the circumstances surrounding his visit -- including the war in Iraq and Bush's bid for re-election -- are "relevant to the determination of probable cause and to the adequacy of Upper Darby's training and policies."
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