Declarations

Kentucky Buggie

“If we would go ahead and pay the fine, I think we would be working against our own religious beliefs. We will not pay the court to prosecute us for our religious beliefs.”

—Jacob Gingerich, one of 9 western Kentucky Amish men refusing to install state-mandated orange safety triangles on their buggies or pay fines or go to jail for not doing so.

Florida Scams

“These costs are being driven up every day all along around the state by scams that are ultimately paid for by Florida’s workers’ families.”

—Florida Gov. Rick Scott in his state of the state address, urging steps to curb PIP auto insurance fraud.

Mitigate

“What we’ve seen last year was clearly an unprecedented number of natural catastrophes, but there’s nothing to say that pattern will or will not repeat (this) year. What I wish we could do is really focus on how do we mitigate and avoid the loss in the first place.”

—Chris Johnson, a senior vice president at insurer FM Global on the continuation of catastrophes into 2012.

Ministerial Exception

“When a minister who has been fired sues her church alleging that her termination was discriminatory, the First Amendment has struck the balance for us. The church must be free to choose those who will guide it on its way.”

—Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. in a unanimous ruling finding a “ministerial exception” to employment discrimination laws for religious institutions in the hiring and firing of their leaders.