NH Supreme Court Weighs $38M Verdict in Landmark Youth Detention Abuse Case
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The New Hampshire Supreme Court is considering a disputed verdict in a high-profile case involving abuse at the state's youth detention center. A jury last year awarded $38 million to David Meehan, who was repeatedly raped and beaten as a teenager at the Youth Development Center in Manchester. However, the state is seeking to reduce the award under a sovereign immunity law that caps individual payouts at $475,000 per incident. The state argues that the abuse Meehan suffered constitutes a single incident, but his attorneys claim that applying this cap would deprive him of his constitutional right to equal protection. The court is weighing the potential consequences of its decision, including the possibility of bankrupting the state or letting it off the hook for its alleged negligence. The case has sparked an unprecedented criminal investigation, nine additional arrests, and over 1,100 lawsuits, with only Meehan's case going to trial. The state's definition of a single incident could have far-reaching implications for hundreds of others who claim they were similarly abused. The court's decision is expected to set a precedent for future cases and could have significant consequences for the state's finances and its handling of abuse allegations at the youth detention center.
