NJ student gets $117.5
p2p news / p2pnet: Ryan Dwyer, a New Jersey student, punished for creating a web site that included critical statements about his middle school, is to get $117,500 from the school district.
The payment comes in the settlement of a lawsuit brought nearly two years ago by the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey.
"Dwyer created the website containing criticism of Maple Place School in April 2003, on his own time from his home computer," says USA Today.
"Comments posted on the site’s ‘guest book’ section angered school officials, who suspended Dwyer for a week, benched him from playing on the baseball team for a month, and barred him from going on his class trip, among other discipline. The district’s lawsuit said anti-Semitic remarks were posted on the site, which Dwyer denied writing."
"The school district has never – to this day – explained to us what rule or policy our son violated," said Kevin Dwyer, Ryan’s father.
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USA Today – Student gets $117,500 in website free speech case, November 7, 2005
November 8th, 2005 at 7:05 pm
This is not an isolated case. This type of situation has occured all over the country and generally ends up with a similar result. Public School Officials attempt to punish a student for posting a message on the internet or creating a website that is critical of (but not threatening to, based on a reasonable interpretation,) the school or one or more school officials. Student conducts such activity from his home or other non-school location using non-school resources outside of school hours. Officials cite “potential distruption” as reason for disciplinary action. Student/Parents call ACLU, lawsuit begins, eventually school forks over settlement or judgement. The ACLU loves these cases and takes just about any of them with this set of circumstances because they are virtually assured of getting legal fees in the settlement.
“Students do not shed their constitutional rights at the schoolhouse gate…” rules the US Supreme Court in Tinker vs. Iowa in 1969. They went on to add, “in our system, undifferentiated fear or apprehension of disturbance is not enough to overcome the right to freedom of expression.” In other words, the expression has to cause or be reasonably certain to cause an ACTUAL disturbance. “Well, SOMEONE just MIGHT get UPSET by THAT!” is not sufficient.
In Tinker the issue was black arm bands to protest the Vietnam War. (Inanimate objects with no moving parts.) Recently, actual in-school issues have center not around student ‘conduct’, but on T-shirts with political slogans on them concerning the War in Iraq, Gay rights, local issues, and school issues, like student drug testing.
They key point that Public School Officials almost always miss in these cases is that the student’s expression must cause or almost certainly likely to cause (when the facts are examined and reasonably interpreted by a impartial party) a disturbance. Thus, black arm bands to protest whatever the issue of the moment might be will be fine. Wrapping yourself in battery-operated blinking Christmas Tree Lights and wearing clown shoes that honk with every step taken would not be.
The “off-campus” aspect of the internet cases adds another dimension to the situation. The school is assuming a role of loco parentis when the student is NOT within the jurisdiction of the school by virtue of being on the school grounds during the school day or from extra-cirricular activities and events. In some jurisdictions, the school’s authority extends to official school events (like a prom) that is not conducted on the school ground, but is conducted under the auspices of the school. This might also extend to the French Class going to France during a school vacation.
In the internet cases, the school is not involved OTHER than being the object of criticism, ridicule, parody, or disdain. The most they can do is contact the parents and express concern about the material. Then IT’S UP TO THE PARENTS to determine what, if any, action will be taken.
The case in NJ lacked one of the more egregious elements that crops up in these cases. Post-Columbine Campus Security Policy has promulgated a “zero-tolerance” (which many believe is a ‘zero intelligence’) approach to disciplinary measures. This removes all discretion and judgement by the supposed ‘professionals’ from the situation. These supposed ‘professionals’ then behave as though all responsibility, accountability, and liability has been removed as well, because there are now ‘charts’ that dictate what the disciplinary measure is for each class of infraction. These policies also require that the Police be summoned to campus if the alleged infraction may have also violated any law and not just been an infraction of the school ‘rules’.
There have been cases where the students and parents have found that the School Officials were upset at the content posted on the internet when the local police show up at their home for an ‘investigation’ or even to arrest the student there on the spot. The School Officials notified the Police directly (without any communication to the student or parents) and informed the Police that they construed the student’s expression to be a ‘terroristic threat’ or something of that ilk, based on some obscure, obtuse, or irrational interpretation of the student’s expression. Many times they claim that it’s some kind of coded ’signal’ to unknown others to collectively engage in some kind of misbehavior. (Now where have we heard that same rationale from recently?)
The involvement of law enforcement complicates matters because pressure is brought to bear on the Police or the DA to make “something” out of the matter so the School District doesn’t wind up with a huge judgement against them and the Police Department with a false-arrest lawsuit. That’s when it really gets ugly.
I’m still researching, but I believe there a a small number of cases when School Officials have attempted to punish students for expression relating to p2p. Using a school computer for p2p activity is certainly within the scope of a potentially prohibited activity, with it’s attendant disciplinary sanctions. Discussing p2p with other students or expressing an opinion about p2p however, is not. The Officials generally claim that the student was attempting to encouraging others to engage in an illegal activity (Yes Orrin, you had your hand up first. Yes, ‘inducement’ is another word for that. Very good. No Orrin, you may not make their computer explode now.)
These School Officials are just presumptively assuming that p2p is illegal just as driving with a .22% Blood Alcohol Count is presumptively illegal. The likely cause of that is probably the recent visit of a Cartel ‘educational consultant’ (along with Wormsworth the tap-dancing Weasel, or whatever that thing is) with lovely color handouts and a psychographically engineering packaged curiculum on copyright totally biased in favor of rights holders in which the term “fair use” never, ever appears.
Just wait until School Officials take it upon themselves to be the town p2p proctors. Then the fur is really going to hit the fan.
–TurboGeek
November 8th, 2005 at 8:11 pm
Normally, I disagree with whatever the Anti-American Communist Litigation Union does as far as their court cases are concerned. However, this time, I believe that they are on the right side of things. There are way too many judges, lawmakers, and other officials who take extreme liberties with our Constitutional rights. I believe that a settlement of about $5 million would have been much better. Yes, I know that would most likely drive the school district into bankrupcy. Of course as far as the new bankrupcy law is concerned, individuals who are filing for bankrupcy must figure out a plan to pay their debts. The same should also apply to government and corporate agencies as well.
The school system should get a loan to pay off the lawsuit. The school should also be prohibited from raising taxes to pay for the settlement. The taxpayers did not violate this students Constututional rights, it was the school system that did it. The school system can use school board member’s perk’s as well as a salary cut for employees to finance the payment of this settlement. Yes, it will cause hardship for the school system, but it will make the school system as well as any other government agency think twice before they violate anybody elses rights.
November 8th, 2005 at 10:47 pm
I’m glad he posted comments about his school, be it good or bad. Evidently they were not untrue comments about the school. Look at what they are at fault about in this situation, with not telling him what exactly he did wrong or what rule he might have broke by speaking his mind. That right there is proof the school has issues. The issues I have had with my own children’s school are a major concern to me, but when you rock the boat and say something someone doesn’t like, then there’s war. To me all in all most schools just want and prefer you and your child to remain a number. They don’t want to have to address their short comings. I’m also concerned that this didn’t say anything about his freedom of speech. Congradulations! to the Ryan Dwyers of the world,we need more of you. Lisa Pierce
November 9th, 2005 at 4:04 am
hehe, its more like “Anti-Christian Liberals United” LOL.. we now have the ACLJ to fight back.. go ACLJ!! http://www.aclj.org/
November 9th, 2005 at 12:16 pm
Just for the record, in addition to the more publicized cases regarding the posting of the Ten Commandments in public buildings and the display of creches and other religious symbols at government facilities during the holiday season, the ACLU has been on what you consider to be the ‘correct’ side of establishment clause cases many times.
The have represented many students who were threatened with disciplinary sanctions or who were actually punished for carrying their bible among their school books on campus or for reading their bible during study hall, lunch period, or before or after school on school grounds.
They have represented students who were punished for sitting together at the same table in the cafeteria during their lunch period and holding a bible study group, or doing readings from the bible (in a non-disturbing manner in a noisy environment) or merely just sitting together and reading their own bible silently, but as a group. In some of the latter cases, the students did this as a ’safety in numbers’ strategy as some of them had been harassed by other students when doing so alone.
They have represented students who wished to form a religious based, extra-curricular ‘club’ and were denied permission to do so by the school. As long as it’s a student initiative to form the club and it’s open to all students, that’s fine. The school can’t decide it’s going to establish a religion based club and set the agenda for it.
They’ve represent students who were punished for wearing or told not to wear religious symbols on their clothing or jewelry such as a cross, star of David, or mezzuzah on a necklace. If the school prohibits ALL jewelry or necklaces, that’s fine. If it only prohibits ’symbolic’ jewelry, then it becomes a content-based prohibition and that isn’t acceptable.
The key element in all of these cases is that the religious ‘activity’ was initiated by an individual as a exercise of their freedom of religion and expression, which resulted in the State actor in the case to respond as though it were “Freedom from Religion” for everyone else and prohibit the activity by mistakenly inverting the establishment clause.
Tinker versus Iowa is almost always cited in such cases involving public schools because freedom of religion and (non-disruptive) religious expression is a constitutional rights that students do not shed at the schoolhouse gate.
The ACLU would put just as much effort into preventing a menorah from appearing in the lobby of city hall or the construction of a minaret tower atop the building’s cupola.
The ACLJ is a lobbying foundation for partisan religious groups with a political agenda who ultimately answer to their higher authorities located not ‘upstairs’, but in Virginia Beach and Lynchburg VA.
–TurboGeek
–TurboGeek
November 9th, 2005 at 5:38 pm
In this country, we have the right to free speech.
This is America….Land of the free, home of the brave……..
…remember?
If anyone expresses how they feel, there is nothing wrong with that.
Unless they single out someone, & post their name.
( they must be 100% with proof of their claim.)
Otherwise they will face legal charges.
I believe this Gentleman was in the right,& deserves what He’s gotten.
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