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Mom charged after putting recording device in daughter's backpack
In late September, Sims says she had enough. She tells 10 On Your Side her 9-year-old daughter was getting bullied at Ocean View Elementary. She says repeated calls and emails to the school went un-returned. [...] Sims says she took actions into her own hands. She wanted to prove that nothing was being done to help her 4th grade daughter. She put a digital recorder into her daughter's backpack in hopes of catching audio from inside the classroom. "If I'm not getting an answer from you what am I left to do?" she asked. The recorder was found. The 9-year-old was moved to a new classroom and about a month later Sims was charged by police.
[...] Sims was charged with felony use of device to intercept oral communication and misdemeanor contributing to the delinquency of a minor. The felony charge could carry five years in prison.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by Arik on Thursday November 30 2017, @03:25AM (16 children)
They let her go on discretion, not because the charges weren't sustainable. In fact they assert their was probable cause for this.
That's not a positive outcome.
If laughter is the best medicine, who are the best doctors?
(Score: 4, Interesting) by Runaway1956 on Thursday November 30 2017, @03:49AM (11 children)
It's not a "good" outcome, no. But at least they aren't going to burn her at the stake. That "discretion" may well mean that SOMEONE in the legal heirarchy has a tiny bit of sense. But, they want to preserve the law so that they can burn someone else who is causing real harm. Mehhh, I dunno . . .
(Score: 4, Interesting) by Arik on Thursday November 30 2017, @03:58AM (10 children)
And that would indicate someone that shouldn't be involved in law, because they simply don't get it.
When you get to pick and choose which laws to enforce against whom, that's no longer rule of law, it's rule of men. It's exactly what the founders tried to prevent.
If there's a law she violated here then there's a law that needs to be repealed or overturned outright, not one that needs 'discretion.'
If laughter is the best medicine, who are the best doctors?
(Score: 4, Insightful) by lentilla on Thursday November 30 2017, @05:24AM (2 children)
We are not a society of lawyers - we are a society of people. I'm all for enforcing laws consistently but; to be honest; this situation should not have come to the attention of the law. That's where "discretion" is applicable. Once it's in the system there are rules that must be followed... but it shouldn't have been in the system in the first place. One should only appeal to the law as a final resort.
(Score: 2) by Wootery on Thursday November 30 2017, @12:13PM
De minimis non curat lex, [duhaime.org] right?
(Score: 1) by nitehawk214 on Thursday November 30 2017, @11:31PM
ALL of our politicians are lawyers. We are a people ruled by lawyers.
"Don't you ever miss the days when you used to be nostalgic?" -Loiosh
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 30 2017, @07:03AM
You call politicians and lawyers 'men'? How lenient of you.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 30 2017, @11:50AM (1 child)
?? This kind of thing happens all of the time. Charges are dropped or downgraded, etc... etc... Maybe the prosecutor's office is understaffed relative to its caseload, so they flat out dump many lesser cases.
The enforcement of law in the legal system has always been a mix of written word and human discretion.
(Score: 2) by bob_super on Thursday November 30 2017, @10:05PM
The fundamental problem being that the writing of laws is a mix of written word and intent.
While that's true everywhere, the US Special Blend of Cronyism, legal bribery, stash of contradicting case law, and need to find standing before you can start the extra-long process of getting even a blatantly unconstitutional law repealed, makes of a pretty unique clusterfuck.
(Score: 3, Informative) by Zobeid Zuma on Thursday November 30 2017, @12:44PM (1 child)
You put discretion in quotes as if you don't believe it's a real thing, but it most definitely is an integral part of our criminal justice system in the USA. Law officers have discretion. Prosecutors have discretion. Judges have discretion. Even juries have discretion, in theory, though the courts have done everything possible to discourage its exercise. Discretion means that the state is not obligated to prosecute someone if doing so is not in the state's interest—or, in broader terms, if it's not in the interest of society or justice.
Laws are not perfect. They can never be perfectly crafted, and it's always going to be possible for someone to run afoul of the law "as written" when they have, in fact, done nothing harmful and nothing that there's any good reason to prosecute them for. Discretion takes that into account.
(Score: 2) by Arik on Thursday November 30 2017, @10:16PM
Discretion is to come into play after a criminal act has been committed.
What criminal act was committed here? By the lady in question, I mean, not by the police or school administration.
If laughter is the best medicine, who are the best doctors?
(Score: 2) by MichaelDavidCrawford on Thursday November 30 2017, @05:42PM
I got into fisticuffs with a caltech administrator. The charges were dropped when I agreed to 72 hours in a nuthouse
My record gives no details just "Furtherance of justice"
Yes I Have No Bananas. [gofundme.com]
(Score: 0, Flamebait) by i286NiNJA on Friday December 01 2017, @02:39AM
Hopefully they'll start by enforcing all the laws when YOU'RE around. The cops can give you a hug and tell you they simply have no choice but to enforce the law as written.
(Score: 4, Interesting) by sjames on Thursday November 30 2017, @04:36AM (2 children)
Of course they said that. They want to make sure she is too afraid to realize that since it's a one party consent state, the charges were bogus and were meant to intimidate her from the start. She could sue for that.
(Score: 2) by cmdrklarg on Thursday November 30 2017, @07:03PM (1 child)
From the last paragraph, it appears that she is considering a lawsuit. Typical mealy-mouthed response from the school admin, I see.
The world is full of kings and queens who blind your eyes and steal your dreams.
(Score: 2) by sjames on Thursday November 30 2017, @07:36PM
Yeah, the school administration's response is about as sincere as "your call is very important to us..." after an hour on hold. I'm glad the woman wasn't scared off and I hope her lawsuit goes through, especially against the prosecutor's office.
(Score: 2) by All Your Lawn Are Belong To Us on Thursday November 30 2017, @03:37PM
I don't know for sure, but don't they have to assert that lest it give the parent prima facie grounds to sue for false prosecution?
This sig for rent.