Private Winner

From WMUR:
"Judge rules NH Powerball winner can keep name private"

A judge has ruled that the New Hampshire woman who was the sole winner of the $559 million Powerball drawing in January can keep her name private. The judge, in his ruling released Monday, said that information about the winner’s hometown can be published, but that releasing her name would be a violation of privacy, and the information is exempt from the state's Right to Know law. The New Hampshire Lottery paid out a lump sum of $352 million to the woman’s trust last week. Her lawyers announced hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations to New Hampshire nonprofits. The winning ticket for the Jan. 6 drawing was purchased at Reed’s Ferry Market in Merrimack. The winner, known in court filings as “Jane Doe,” followed advice she received on the state lottery's website in signing the ticket with her own name.  The state had argued that under the law, personally signing the ticket meant that her name was public information. Her lawyers argued that her interest in privacy outweighed the public’s right to know who won one of the largest lottery jackpots on U.S. history.

^ This is just plain stupid. Apparently. signing your name to having your name published and getting your money and later claiming ignorance is legal. I was always taught (no matter what state I was currently in) that ignorance of the law is never a legal excuse. I guess it now is in New Hampshire. The one good thing is that the town's name will be published so it will be easy for anyone to know the woman who now has all the money. I personally don't care to know. I was more interested in seeing whether NH would let ignorance as stupidity be a legal excuse and they have. ^

http://www.wmur.com/article/loyal-dog-waits-outside-hospital-four-months-after-homeless-owner-dies/19402045