Hot Bench Season 4 Episode 189 Frat Bro Roof Fall!; Librarian Under Fire for Getting High?!

As much as we don't like it, accidents can happen. What happens, though, when the victim sues the supposed perpetrator for damages? In the Hot Bench segment of episode 189 of the fourth season, we follow a case in which an injured man sues his friend after he falls off the roof and ends up with a fractured ankle and wrist. The question at hand is whether the friend was negligent and the cause of the fall.

Complicating matters is that the two young men were drinking and smoking marijuana at the time, leading one of the judges to comment that "It's never a good idea to combine drugs and alcohol with anything elevated off the ground." The plaintiff argues that his friend was negligent in not providing a safe environment, while the defendant insists that he had warned his friend of the dangers of the slippery roof and had tried to stop him from going up.

The three judges of Hot Bench -- Judge Acker, Judge DiMango, and Judge Corriero -- listen carefully to both sides of the argument and try to figure out who was at fault. Judge Corriero, the eldest judge and the one with the most experience in criminal law, cuts to the heart of the matter when he asks, "What's more important, your friend's safety or your use of the roof as a party venue?"

In another case, a school librarian is accused of smoking marijuana on the job. The school board has recommended that she be terminated, but the librarian, who has been at the school for over 20 years, insists that she has never done anything wrong. She argues that she only used marijuana in the privacy of her own home and never came to work under the influence.

The judges question the librarian about her actions, asking her why she would risk her job and reputation by using drugs when it is clearly against the law and school policy. Judge Acker, who has a background in education law, is particularly interested in how the school board came to investigate the librarian and whether her privacy rights have been violated.

As always, the judges of Hot Bench weigh the evidence carefully and try to determine the truth behind the cases they are presented with. Will the injured man receive compensation for his injury? Will the librarian be able to keep her job? Tune in to episode 189 to find out.