The Ohio Supreme Court has doubled down on its infamous ruling in which they determined that chicken wings labeled "boneless" may have bones in it, refusing to reconsider the case.
Eight years ago, Michael Berkheimer ate a wing that was supposed to be boneless but was not, resulting in a bone becoming stuck in his throat. He then attempted to sue the restaurant that served him the wing. However, the court ruled that bones were a natural part of chicken, and hence consumers should be on the lookout for bones even within boneless wings, reported NBC 4.
The ruling precluded Berkheimer from receiving a jury trial, causing him to request that the court reconsider its decision. However, the Republican majority court handed back the exact same decision in a 4-3 ruling.
Justice Patrick Fischer, who recorded the majority opinion, stated that Berkheimer did not provide any new evidence or points of interest when asking for the case to be reconsidered, stating that he would deny reconsideration for a motion that "merely reargues a case." He was supported by Justices Joseph Deters, Sharon Kennedy, Patrick Fischer and Patrick DeWine.
"Courts must not be influenced or swayed — in any way — by the press," Fischer wrote. "We are not courts of public opinion. We are courts of law."
Justices Michael Donnelly, Melody Stewart and Jennifer Brunner, all Democrats, dissented from the majority.
"Months ago, this court received unprecedented media attention after it issued an opinion in what should have been a simple negligence case," Donnelly wrote. "In short, if the public cannot trust the judiciary to be faithful in small things — like whether 'boneless' can reasonably be understood as not including bones — how can the judiciary be trusted with greater things?"
"I just want to be whole again," said Berkheimer, who is now 65. "I'll never be the same ... I want the law to be changed, and I want your little kids, the soccer teams, football teams, baseball teams, I want everybody to be safe."
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