I hope that this school district gets sued right into the ground, so hard, that they have to question whether they'll ever be able to operate again. What they did was absolutely wrong, and I truly hope that the MORON administrators involved are crapping down both legs right now, because they know they're going to get annihilated in court!
The Marketing Intern
· 4 months ago
I love it. These are the same kind of people who get all up in arms and demand to know why nobody at the school saw it coming when an angsty teenager ODs on Draino. Nobody saw it coming because nobody is SUPPOSED to see it coming. Kids do dumb, idiotic, harmful things to themselves and to others. But unless we want them to grow into fleshy, spineless abominations to adulthood, we must give them room to do these dumb things.
I don't know what was on this girl's Facebook account that was so important that a coach had to hack it and spread it around. But unless it said something like, "I'm going to put a bomb under the popular girls' table at lunch tomorrow," I don't care. Forget the legal ramifications; if you want your kids to be adults, treat them like adults. Respect their space, and let them define it. To do otherwise is, well... an abomination to adulthood.
MathieuB
· 4 months ago
Wtf?! I wonder on what ground they will be defending their request for her password, that's ridiculous. Good for them that they get sued, they deserve it.
David Ortez
· 4 months ago
Actually the burden is on the Plaintiff to prove that she was coerced to provide this password ... if that cannot be established than everything else is irrelevant. As a Plaintiff, your allegations are not automatically accepted as the truth until you can prove the facts of the case.
Once the Plaintiff can prove that she was coerced then there is a burden that the act caused everything else. I find this to be an act that will hard to overcome if the School District provides competent counsel to the defendants which I do not doubt.
Kirzen
· 4 months ago
Thank you for your legal opinion on the matter, but you fail.
The plaintif in this case doesn't have to prove that she was coerced, she simply has to prove that either she was coerced into providing the information, or that she could expect that the confidential information in the private sections on her facebook would be kept private. Examine the circumstances, either they asked her to provide it, and counseled her such that the information would go no further, then breached her privacy, or they coerced her into providing her details in some other manner. Do you honestly expect, asked "Please give us your password, we make no promises about what we'll do with it" that your average teenager with potentially damaging information locked behind that password would simply hand it over?
The author of this blog is making some sweeping statements about free speech and freedom of association that are complete legal bullshit (because free speech sells especially well in the media circus) but regarding privacy, that part will be laughably easy to prove, and intentional infliction of emotional distress will also be relatively easy to prove depending on the nature of the information made public, all she has to do to prove that portion is to prove that the administration should have known that making that information public would cause her humiliation or disciplinary action.
The fact of the matter is, it will be very difficult for them to defend their need to have access to her account, my back pocket theory regarding what they were after is that another student approached the faculty about something on that account, be it teasing or cyberbullying, or potentially racy photos, or any number of "inappropriate" items, and they took it upon themselves to force the password out of her to police it themselves... And they should have their hands cut off for it.
Digital Jedi
· 4 months ago
Actually, the lawsuit IS claiming that her 1st, 9th and 10th amendment rights were violated in Count 1 and Free Association is part of count 2. Whether that's right or not, I don't know, but it is there in the document, so it's not like the blog author made it up.
David Ortez
· 4 months ago
Kirzen,
Sorry you FAIL ... how can you state that the Plaintiff does not have to prove that she was coerced? Her allegations are not considered facts until they are proven ... remember the Golden Rule: You are Innocent until you are proven Guilty.
Apparently you did not actually read the court documents and have come up with your own legal opinion without considering the facts.
Let me remind folks that 90% of lawsuits are settled out of court so perhaps this may not even reach the court room and thus arguments will never be necessary.
Aayush Shastri
· 4 months ago
absolutely!
Jakuto
· 4 months ago
I guess she is hyping her side of the story up but nevertheless I do not think that the coach or anyone else involved should get away with forcing someone to give them their password and/or bullying them with information which was pretty much stolen.
redwall_hp
· 4 months ago
Okay, at school or not, you shouldn't be able to demand someone's password for anything without a court order.
Craig Foster
· 4 months ago
What I want to know is. What was the information on her Facebook account that would have them do this?
JD
· 4 months ago
Whats on your facebook account?
Craig Foster
· 4 months ago
Nothing worth a law suit.
Bios Element
· 4 months ago
"Craig Sucks. I hate him!"
Then you come along and force me to hand over my password and read that. See how it works? >.> It's stupid.
Aayush Shastri
· 4 months ago
LOL
Stew Brennand
· 4 months ago
This is a disgusting abuse of power and there are no legal grounds for anyone to force their way into this girls account. Had there have been any LEGAL reason what so ever, then the District should have obtained a legal warrant, which they did not.
I would go so far as to say the the perpetrator who initiated this act has a borderline stalker mentality, just to get into her account. Swift action must be taken to detract from others attempting this sort of abuse. I'd also throw an extortion charge in for good measure.
Good Luck Ms. Jackson.
Craig Foster
· 4 months ago
I would love to see all government officals that believe they are running anything (rather than overseeing it for the public) hung by their toes in public and lashed daily for a week.
But stalking is a reach. Stalkers don't share the information.
Mike
· 4 months ago
Please correct me if I'm wrong (legal proceedings are certainly not my forte), but, on page 13, does this line:
"WHEREFORE the Plaintiff prays that the court will... B. Award compensatory damages against each Defendant in excess of $100,000,000."
...mean that they expect $100 million from this lawsuit? I could be completely reading the language wrong, but I just find it fascinating that it's not a "not to exceed $100,000,000" but is actually wanting MORE than one hundred million dollars. Like I said, please let me know if I'm wrong or not understanding something. I'm just wondering if the people reading this post all feel that, as wrong as what these teachers did, it's worth "in excess of $100,000,000."
The Marketing Intern
· 4 months ago
I think -- and I too may be wrong -- that lawsuits generally high-ball damages. The $100M figure essentially means "A whole shit-ton of money." Even if she wins (and I hope she does, if all the facts here are accurate) she'll never see all that money. Not even a tenth of it.
Danielle
· 4 months ago
That's what I thought - and even if she only gets for example 100,000 it still does not seem justified. I don't agree at all with what they did, and I think they should be punished severely. Maybe even lose their jobs (expelled) or have to temporarily lose their jobs (suspended). But I don't see how monetary compensation helps the girl.
What should have happened is the teachers sit both girls down and TALK about what was discussed on facebook. Teens have a lot of very sensitive information (like who they have crushes on, or who they think is a b*tch) - I can see why this would be horrifying for her.
should have
· 4 months ago
yes, they 'should have' talked about it. but it seems that instead for two years, according to the brief, that they used the information maliciously against her. please think beyond crushes or gossip... the information could include birth control, abortion, rape, who knows what.
hall monitor
· 4 months ago
This story made http://detentionslip.org, another one of TIME's best blogs! Check it out for all the crazy headlines from our schools.
Amanda Hawkins
· 4 months ago
You go girl!
Jeff
· 4 months ago
I had big brothers big sister send me an email a couple of days ago asking for my credentials for all social networking sites or face my match being terminated.
HA! That's my first reaction to this story! But that would just get me put in jail now wouldn't it.
BDouglas
· 4 months ago
Last time I checked it was illegal to access a computer account without permission. Getting permission under false pretenses (aka "social engineering") is equally as unlawful. Why isn't there a criminal complaint filed as well? Just pressing charges will make the civil case that much more likely to succeed.
Clem
· 4 months ago
In my opinion, the only adults that should be able to get a child's password for anything online is the "PARENTS"! Any adults that believe that they have the authority to do such a thing should not only be sued but LOSE THEIR JOB! AND BE JAILED!! It's obvious that they think they have a right. POWER CORRUPTS ABSOLUTELY and STUPID IS AS STUPID DOES!! This isn't even my kid and I actually want these adults careers ended! They better learn to dig ditches.
Gonzobot
· 4 months ago
Maybe the dumb bitch should've learned SOMEWHERE in her 16 years that there is a word you can use called 'NO'. I guess being an impressionable girl in high school, she had no idea that this was an option for her. So dumb. Anyways, those teachers should have their logins posted on a school bulletin board as punishment - guaranteed those names and passwords will work on other sites, such as their bank or government pages. Let them know what its like to have privacy forcibly and knowingly removed forever.
Facebooker
· 4 months ago
I think nature has introduced a tax on stupidity that is applied automatically to those who manifest it. If you're stupid enough to post on Facebook stuff that could get you in trouble and even more so if you're stupid enough to hand over your credentials to obviously stupid people, you deserve a compounded stupid tax. Good job, keep at it!
rubken
· 4 months ago
I am surprised that the school would not have a policy guiding staff in situations such as this. If it was seen as serious enough to warrant access to any private area that was not school property surely her parents should have been contacted.
Do parents have any guardianship over the online identities of minors?
The actions of the staff seem ignorant at best, particularly in a nation as litigious as the USA.
valerie
· 4 months ago
I hope she receives every dime x 100 for what they did...it is unexceptible and all should be fired period.
writenow
· 3 months ago
I see school officials are branching out from first, not doing their duty to protect kids from bullies; (every school has a anti-bully policy - the problem is, school officials refuse to enforce it) to becoming the bully themselves. If morons like this are are in charge of the school, how can anyone be surprised by low grades and dropping out?
Mark Parbus
· 1 month ago
It is truly disturbing when a person in a position of trust abuses his power to the sacrifice of others.
Last night, a principal at Green Hope High School in Cary, North Carolina verbally abused and threatened physical removal by police a group of parents attending a school football meeting.
All Comments
I don't know what was on this girl's Facebook account that was so important that a coach had to hack it and spread it around. But unless it said something like, "I'm going to put a bomb under the popular girls' table at lunch tomorrow," I don't care. Forget the legal ramifications; if you want your kids to be adults, treat them like adults. Respect their space, and let them define it. To do otherwise is, well... an abomination to adulthood.
Once the Plaintiff can prove that she was coerced then there is a burden that the act caused everything else. I find this to be an act that will hard to overcome if the School District provides competent counsel to the defendants which I do not doubt.
The plaintif in this case doesn't have to prove that she was coerced, she simply has to prove that either she was coerced into providing the information, or that she could expect that the confidential information in the private sections on her facebook would be kept private. Examine the circumstances, either they asked her to provide it, and counseled her such that the information would go no further, then breached her privacy, or they coerced her into providing her details in some other manner. Do you honestly expect, asked "Please give us your password, we make no promises about what we'll do with it" that your average teenager with potentially damaging information locked behind that password would simply hand it over?
The author of this blog is making some sweeping statements about free speech and freedom of association that are complete legal bullshit (because free speech sells especially well in the media circus) but regarding privacy, that part will be laughably easy to prove, and intentional infliction of emotional distress will also be relatively easy to prove depending on the nature of the information made public, all she has to do to prove that portion is to prove that the administration should have known that making that information public would cause her humiliation or disciplinary action.
The fact of the matter is, it will be very difficult for them to defend their need to have access to her account, my back pocket theory regarding what they were after is that another student approached the faculty about something on that account, be it teasing or cyberbullying, or potentially racy photos, or any number of "inappropriate" items, and they took it upon themselves to force the password out of her to police it themselves... And they should have their hands cut off for it.
Sorry you FAIL ... how can you state that the Plaintiff does not have to prove that she was coerced? Her allegations are not considered facts until they are proven ... remember the Golden Rule: You are Innocent until you are proven Guilty.
Apparently you did not actually read the court documents and have come up with your own legal opinion without considering the facts.
Let me remind folks that 90% of lawsuits are settled out of court so perhaps this may not even reach the court room and thus arguments will never be necessary.
Then you come along and force me to hand over my password and read that. See how it works? >.> It's stupid.
I would go so far as to say the the perpetrator who initiated this act has a borderline stalker mentality, just to get into her account. Swift action must be taken to detract from others attempting this sort of abuse. I'd also throw an extortion charge in for good measure.
Good Luck Ms. Jackson.
But stalking is a reach. Stalkers don't share the information.
"WHEREFORE the Plaintiff prays that the court will... B. Award compensatory damages against each Defendant in excess of $100,000,000."
...mean that they expect $100 million from this lawsuit? I could be completely reading the language wrong, but I just find it fascinating that it's not a "not to exceed $100,000,000" but is actually wanting MORE than one hundred million dollars. Like I said, please let me know if I'm wrong or not understanding something. I'm just wondering if the people reading this post all feel that, as wrong as what these teachers did, it's worth "in excess of $100,000,000."
What should have happened is the teachers sit both girls down and TALK about what was discussed on facebook. Teens have a lot of very sensitive information (like who they have crushes on, or who they think is a b*tch) - I can see why this would be horrifying for her.
http://www.reddit.com/r/reddit.com/comments/95d...
RT
www.anon-web-tools.tk
Do parents have any guardianship over the online identities of minors?
The actions of the staff seem ignorant at best, particularly in a nation as litigious as the USA.
Last night, a principal at Green Hope High School in Cary, North Carolina verbally abused and threatened physical removal by police a group of parents attending a school football meeting.
http://www.babyboomerjourney.com/