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posted by martyb on Monday July 02 2018, @04:07PM   Printer-friendly
from the what-did-they-say? dept.

Illinois prosecutors have charged a 13-year-old student with felony eavesdropping for recording his conversation with two school administrators. Should he be found guilty and sentenced, a conviction could land him a minimum of one year in prison. According to TechDirt:

The [Illinois] law forbids recordings without all parties' consent. It would seem that the school officials' refusal to discuss anything further once they were informed they were being recorded should have been enough. The conversation was ended, along with the recording. If they were concerned they said something they shouldn't have during the previous ten minutes, maybe should have restrained themselves during the argument, rather than ruin a 13-year-old's life with a bad law Illinois legislators refuse to rewrite. Given how often this law is used to protect the powerful, it's hardly surprising legislators haven't expressed a serious interest in fixing it.

Everyone from the administrators to the prosecutors and those in between had a lot of discretion available to stop the chain of events, but all chose not to stop it.


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  • (Score: 5, Interesting) by sjames on Monday July 02 2018, @04:34PM (9 children)

    by sjames (2882) on Monday July 02 2018, @04:34PM (#701442) Journal

    Surely the prosecutors cannot be unaware that 3 courts have already found that the law is unconstitutional when the non-consenting party is a public official (such as a public school administrator) and they surely know that a 13 year old is a minor. Anything but immediately declining to prosecute is misconduct.

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  • (Score: 4, Informative) by crafoo on Monday July 02 2018, @04:38PM

    by crafoo (6639) on Monday July 02 2018, @04:38PM (#701445)

    You say misconduct, they say keeping the uppity wage-slaves-in-training in their proper place. Make an example of the free thinkers not willing to grovel at the boots of authority. Everyone else learns a very valuable lesson.

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 02 2018, @04:54PM (7 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 02 2018, @04:54PM (#701456)

    Try reading your schools rules... No recording of staff or procedures on school grounds unless it's part of a class project.

    • (Score: 5, Informative) by sjames on Monday July 02 2018, @04:59PM

      by sjames (2882) on Monday July 02 2018, @04:59PM (#701459) Journal

      School rules are not a matter for criminal courts and prosecutors.

    • (Score: 3, Informative) by takyon on Monday July 02 2018, @05:00PM (5 children)

      by takyon (881) <reversethis-{gro ... s} {ta} {noykat}> on Monday July 02 2018, @05:00PM (#701460) Journal

      School policy is not law. They could expel a student for violating the rules, but that is separate from prosecutors charging the student with a felony.

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      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 02 2018, @05:10PM (4 children)

        by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 02 2018, @05:10PM (#701465)

        Like clockboy?

        • (Score: 2) by takyon on Monday July 02 2018, @05:13PM

          by takyon (881) <reversethis-{gro ... s} {ta} {noykat}> on Monday July 02 2018, @05:13PM (#701468) Journal

          What's your point?

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        • (Score: 2, Interesting) by Captival on Monday July 02 2018, @11:35PM (1 child)

          by Captival (6866) on Monday July 02 2018, @11:35PM (#701633)

          That little prick deserved it. Go look at the history of what he and his family have been up to since.

          • (Score: 1, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 03 2018, @12:07AM

            by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 03 2018, @12:07AM (#701647)

            Lawsuits are an all-American pastime.

        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 07 2018, @12:08PM

          by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 07 2018, @12:08PM (#703783)

          That's Clockmed to you kaffir scum fear knowing that saying anything against the righteous could cost you 15 mill cold [thewashingtonstandard.com] so suck it up stop you lies [wnd.com] can not stop us from taking what our right hands possess