|
Judge: School Officials Abused Discretion in Zero Tolerance Case
EFL - hattip top Zero IntelligenceIn 2002, thirteen-year-old Mitch Muller, then a seventh-grader at North Valley Middle School, was expelled for possession of what the school called a "firearm facsimile." The school officials imposed this penalty because of the stateâs zero tolerance policy, which bars any firearm or "firearm facsimile that could reasonably be mistaken for an actual firearm" on school grounds. However, Weld District Court Judge Julie Hoskins decided that officials at North Valley Middle School had abused their discretion by labeling the miniscule laser pointer as a firearm facsimile. The judge ruled that a 2 and 1/2-inch toy gun that can be hidden in the palm of oneâs hand could not reasonably be mistaken for an actual gun. Mullerâs attorney, John Whitehead of the Rutherford Institute, says the Hoskinsâ ruling is "cause for jubilation" because zero-tolerance cases are very difficult to win. "Finally," he says, "we have a judge who has looked at ... this really crazy area of zero tolerance, where kids are thrown out of school for having Alka-Seltzer or Midol, or a squirt gun -- expelled from school for a year for a squirt gun -- and said, âListen, this is really silly. Youâve abused your discretion here. This boy should never have been expelled from school for having a laser pointer.â" Public schools have been enforcing zero-tolerance policies since the mid-1990âs and according to Whitehead, since the Columbine massacre, they have gotten worse. He hopes the ruling in the Greeley case will send a message to school officials that "compassion and common sense need to be restored to the classroom." The Rutherford Institute spokesman says his legal group is working toward getting Mullerâs records "cleaned up" so he and his family can move on. "This is a good kid who just simply happened to pick up another school friendâs laser and point it, and the red dot hit the blackboard," he says. "These are the kinds of things that, when I was a kid, happened on a regular basis," Whitehead adds, "and teachers usually didnât care. But today itâs met with expulsion." Judge Hoskins has in fact ordered the school district to remove Mitch Mullerâs expulsion from his records. However, according to the Greeley Tribune newspaper, Superintendent Jo Barbie says the district is talking with lawyers about the possibilities of an appeal, although no decision has been made as yet. The school district is concerned that they might not look silly enough yet so an appeal may be required. Afterall itâs taxpayer money they plan to spend on the appeal. Posted by: Super Hose 2004-06-18 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=35776 |