It just brings into sharp relief the reason why lawyer jokes are so popular in the US.
Lawsuits or fear of lawsuits are why we get ridiculous warnings on appliances such as hairdryers cautioning "do not use under water".
Lawsuits are why many medical doctors are switching to obscure subspecialties or are leaving the profession in droves because they can't afford malpractice insurance premiums of $100,000+ per year (even though 80% of malpractice lawsuits return nothing to the plaintiff, the doctors' insurance companies have to pay lawyers to represent the doctor)
Lawsuits are why states such as NJ require drivers to carry mandatory
auto insurance, and why NJ auto insurance rates are the highest in the country.
Class action suits bring pennies to the individual and millions to the lawyers involved.
Who pays for all of these lawsuits? Ultimately, WE DO!
You must be American! If this happened in Europe, they'd be spending so much time fighting over which language they were arrested under, which district officer arrested them, etc.. not to mention the fact that if one of the homeless men had so much as a great grandfather who was born in another country, it would be hailed as yet another example of how immegration is ruining Europe. 
