Seismologists Tried for Manslaughter for Not Predicting
Earthquake  Five Italian seismologists and a government official
are on trial for manslaughter for not predicting a major
earthquake that hit a town in April of 2009. Seismologists have
sort of a different job in Italy!  From Nature:  At the time of
the 31 March 2009 meeting, seismic activity had been going on in
the area for more than three months, causing alarm in the
population. [Civil Protection official Bernardo] De Bernardinis
summoned the meeting and asked the scientists to assess the risk
of a major earthquake and its possible consequences. The meeting
was followed by a press conference by De Bernardinis and
Barberi, where the two reassured the population that the seismic
sequence did not necessarily hint at a major earthquake. De
Bernardinis, in particular, appeared on television saying that
"the scientific community tells me there is no danger, because
there is an ongoing discharge of energy. The situation looks
favorable". A major earthquake d