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Dale Earnhardt

Earnhardt has been the subject of one of the more interesting free speech battles in recent years, with certain parties (i.e., the Widow Earnhardt) lobbying to prevent the release of records to which the public is legally entitled. A law was passed preventing unauthorized disclosure of Florida autopsy photographs and the free exercise of speech from publishing them. It is almost as if someone read the "Congress shall make no law" clause of the First Amendment and had trouble with the last two words. Oh yeah. Florida.

Rotten.com publishes interesting and disturbing photos, of which Mr. Earnhardt's autopsy portfolio is decidedly not. Don't expect to see them here anytime soon.

Pictured at right, one of the more tacky pieces of Earnhardt kitsch, the Dale Earnhardt Memorial Christmas Ornament. It looks like a neuticle.

Timeline

29 Apr 1951 Dale Earnhardt born, Kannapolis NC.
25 May 1975 Begins stock car racing at the World 600, Charlotte Motor Speedway.
1997 Reaches $30M in lifetime winnings.
18 Feb 2001 Top NASCAR racing star Dale Earnhardt dies in the Daytona 500.
Mar 2001 Florida passes a law forbidding unauthorized disclosure of autopsy photos, as a direct result of the Earnhardt accident. The law is retroactive.
1 Dec 2003 The U.S. Supreme Court refuses to hear the University of Florida newspaper Independent Florida Alligator's appeal demanding the right to view and publish autopsy photos.


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