A timely example of "prosecutorial" overzealousness

[12voltman59]

Check out this story----like the writer said--the girls should be punished in some way like it has been done for years--but to file criminal charges--that is more than ridiculous--it is damn stupid, a waste of taxpayer resources and if it goes all the way to them being convicted---a major miscarriage of justice:

http://www.switched.com/2009/01/14/sexting-teenagers-charged-with-child-pornography/

[FalconAngel]

I'm just surprised that such an intelligently written story actually came out of Fox News.

But they are right, for a change. Charging the children as criminals will, most certainly, ruin their lives; all because they did something stupid and no one was actually harmed.

Have them all go out and cut themselves a switch, but sending them to jail is way over the top.

I would hate to be the prosecutor that has to handle this case. He/she can kiss their career goodby if it goes to trial.

[Long Duck Dong]

this is indeed a differcult case, but it begs the question....at what point do we draw the line

at what point do we cease to be the immature kid and become the responsible adult....

and at what point do we look at this case and ask the question..... everybody is equal, lets treat everybody equally but can we really do just that ???

[rissababynta]

lame...

[darkeyes]

Find this bloody insane.. kids experiment usually wiv each otha..an now we gonna start ruinin lives by criminalisin 'em...wosn a bright move on ther part..so we make 'em criminals cos they lakked a few sensible brain cells?? jeez...ther r otha betta ways a dealin wiv this sorta thing than ruinin kids lives....

[curious married m]

A side note to this story. Barb and I both noticed that the pictures were discovered on the phone after it had been confiscated at school. Since when is it legal for authorities to turn on the phone without probable cause and invade the privacy of it's owner. The job of the school personel is to prevent the phone from being used at school and contact the parents if there is a suspicious concern. But to rifle through the information on the phone without the consent of the parents should be an illegal search. I agree with LDD on the matter of equality. How many adults would like their phones and laptops searched without probable cause and be subject to prosecution.
Just my :2cents:

[curiousohio]

If treating them as equals, how many adults would be seen as criminals if they passed nude pics of themselfs to others there age?

[allbimyself]

cmm, I was thinking the same thing. If I was the prosecutor, I'd be investigating school authorities to see who was perusing the images, texts and other personal information.

[bret5668]

I agree with Volty, this is nothing more than a waste of taxpayer resources. Should the students be reprimanded? YES! but not by the school, by the parents. I also agree that the school should be investigated for invading the privacy of any student, my question is...would the same action have been taken had it been a laptop computer confiscated for similar reasons?
Furthermore....whoever in that school viewed the pictures of the young ladies would have to be an adult...and therefore "could" be charged with viewing child pornography, considering that person is not a law enforcement agent.

[csrakate]

When my youngest son had his phone confiscated at school several years ago (he wasn't even using it but had it discovered during a random "check" as he entered school that morning where it was found in his pocket, turned OFF), the first step of the entire ludicrous procedure was the removal of the battery pack which was immediately returned to my son. The phone was then immediately bagged, labeled and filed away until such time we were allowed to claim it, in our case 365 days later. I am wondering why a similar procedure wasn't followed in this case and although I found our situation a waste of time and effort, at least it protected the rights of my son's privacy.

[darkeyes]

...confiscated a kids fone at school 'ere an read 'is or 'er txts n stuff fair chance me wud b out on me ear... an thats if me lukky.. an 2 bloody rite an all...:eek:

[12voltman59]

The way the courts have ruled and legislatures have changed laws when it comes to what authorities can do in regards to kids in school---all the previous protections of rights the kids had have gone out the window--all in the name of "making our kids safe."

So in most places now--the school officials can pretty well do whatever they deem necessary in order to "maintain an orderly and safe educational environment."

[grayhound]

IMHO conviscation of the phones,as anything else, is just another way of them stealing it. I can see them taking them and returning them at close of that school day, but any longer is theft. They have no right going into the phone for any reason unless they have a warrent, because there are privicy laws. Seeings they were minors, the phones should have been turned over to the parents as soon as posible, not as in some cases the end of school year, or longer. So the school should be charged with theft and illegal search, the person or persons viewing what was on the phone (pics) should be charged with child porn. But if they were, the darn gov would step in and back date a law to cover their butts. :2cents:

[csrakate]

The way the courts have ruled and legislatures have changed laws when it comes to what authorities can do in regards to kids in school---all the previous protections of rights the kids had have gone out the window--all in the name of "making our kids safe."

So in most places now--the school officials can pretty well do whatever they deem necessary in order to "maintain an orderly and safe educational environment."

I was reading some of the comments at the bottom of the article and I was rather dismayed by the comments of an educator who said she feels it is her job to do whatever is necessary to maintain the safety and well-being of her students, even if it means looking at private things on cell phones. Her justification was based on the premise that as an educator, it is her duty to report any and all forms of abuse that she feels may be experienced by a child and stated that she will do whatever it takes to uphold that ideal. While I appreciate her concern and obvious good intentions, it is just that sort of overzealous activity that floods our system with reports based on personal interpretation of said activities and not necessarily on fact. I know that our teachers and school officials are overwhelmed with keeping things safe for our kids, but there has to be a definitive line as to what is and isn't considered abuse and what is just simple curious, albeit overtly sexual, behavior. And even though my husband and I always took special precautions as to things of a sexual content in regards to the technological outlets of our kids, I shudder to think what may have been on my childrens' phones and/or computers and even more so, how it would be interpreted by outsiders as to whether or not it was abusive and how they might have regarded us as parents in connection to it. There is certainly a fine line between protection and "crying wolf".

[jamieknyc]

Criminal defense is not my field, but I believe that school authorities do have the right to search cell phones on school property.

This is the sort of thing that in the old days would have called for a judge having the discretion to let the kids off with a warning. However, in recent years, with the public outcry against sexual exploitation of children, advocacy groups have pushed state legislatures to adopt laws that impose mandatory punishments on the use of sexual imagery invovling minors.

Don't be too worried, though- in real life, the girls will probably take a plea to disorderly conduct and pay a $25 fine.

[allbimyself]

http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/01/16/teen.strip.search/index.html

Yes, we must keep everyone safe so it's OK to be heavy handed. This is EXACTLY why schools should have to be held to the same standards as law enforcement on the streets. We are raising a generation of children to believe it's ok to have their rights trampled to "protect" everyone.

To me, this is the surest sign that the PTB are leading us to a police state.

[frikidiki]

I agree that the schools should not access the data contained on the phones they confiscate from students at all. And if my understanding of a warrant is correct, a school cannot actually get one to access the phone (sorry to split hairs with someone, but it is actually relevant). Those phones should have been turned over to the parents or, if the situation warrants it, back to the students they were confiscated from.

I also agree that this is a waste of the system's time, and that child pornography laws shouldn't apply to the accused, but it really boils down to how the law is actually written and argued in court, assuming it gets that far. Does anyone have a copy of that law or a link to it or relevant discussions about it?

Now, I can see the dangerous possibility of such pics as the students had being turned into child porn by an adult. Kids are often as careless as they are clever, and I wouldn't be surprised if they never thought of this possibility.

These kids deserve chastisement and punishment from their parents, but nothing more.