The AP reported this week that a New York jury rejected a claim by teacher Lauren Berrios against a school district for wrongful termination.  Berrios sought $2 million in damages based on her claim that she was fired for being a witch, an allegation she denies.

Actually, the article only says that she "denied ever practicing witchcraft," which is not quite the same thing.  She could have taken all the classes and even passed the exam, but then chosen not to practice.  This happens with lawyers all the time and I don’t see why witches should be any different.

Berrios sued the Hampton Bay school district in 2001, alleging that her school’s principal, a born-again Christian, had fired her after deciding (for reasons the article did not disclose) that Berrios was a witch.  The district argued that Berrios was not fired due to suspected witch status, but rather because she did not get along with co-workers and had (the AP’s verb choice) "conjured" up false stories.  For example, defense attorney Steven Stern told jurors, Berrios fabricated tales that her husband had been involved in a plane crash, and that her two-year-old son had "lost his fingers in a VCR accident."  The report did not explain why Berrios allegedly fabricated these tales, or how one might lose all ten fingers in even the worst VCR accident.

Link: AP via FindLaw.com