Mother faces felony charge after using recorder to thwart school bullies

[TirielWoW]

Good to know that I can hide a recorder in a school building and record random people talking.

Oh wait, that's not how it works.

You're missing the "involved" part of my sentence. That's okay, though. Given your posting history in this thread alone, I don't expect you to pay attention to important details.

[LiiLoSNK]

You're missing the "involved" part of my sentence. That's okay, though. Given your posting history in this thread alone, I don't expect you to pay attention to important details.

I've been saying that you can't record a classroom of other kids without their consent. The recorder was in the desk recording everything. Pretty ironic that you'd mention me not paying attention to details after you blindly entered the thread and said something stupid.

To keep from looking stupid in the future, please read before posting. Thanks.

[TirielWoW]

I've been saying that you can't record a classroom of other kids without their consent. The recorder was in the desk recording everything. Pretty ironic that you'd mention me not paying attention to details after you blindly entered the thread and said something stupid.

To keep from looking stupid in the future, please read before posting. Thanks.

You absolutely can, because the child in question with the recorder was an active participant in the classroom. And only her consent was required.

[LiiLoSNK]

You absolutely can, because the child in question with the recorder was an active participant in the classroom. And only her consent was required.

Not if it was in the desk when she wasn't near it. ie: She leaves the room and goes to the bathroom or to recess.

[Zantos]

All that idiot school did was put a target on themselves. Now everyone knows they don't take bullying seriously to the point that the parents feel they need to take the situation into their own hands to get it dealt with. Furthermore, they made it in the news. They released a proverbial shit storm om themselves and they are the bad guys in this situation. Charges wont stick. Especially when given the emotion factor that would play Heavily on any jury about a mother trying to protect her child from bullies after the school failed to do so. And then continued to fail to take action by going to the police instead of trying to talk to the mother.

[Tico]

She should be let off the hook, but the message should be made clear that her actions were stupid as hell and no other parent should try to do this unless they're actually full blow retarded and want to go to jail.

I guess it is more or less agreed. Maybe not that harsh, but a clear message should be there.
The base problem (bullying) is also very important to be handled by other actions.

[Rustedsaint]

Charges against her have been dropped according to a post on cnn.

[CyanideJay]

Charges against her have been dropped according to a post on cnn.

Saw this coming. The argument about the sidebar conversations wouldn't stick in most single side recording states anyways. The prosecutor would have to show in that event that the conversations off to the side would reasonably not have been heard by the student in question with the recorder in the first place as the discussion is hapenning in a venue where one would not normally expect to have had privacy from others hearing the discussion. This is why confidentiality laws are written the way they are in regards to verbal disclosures. If I and someone else have confidentiality in regards to an issue and we openly discuss it in a public format such as a room where other people are, and we discuss sensitive information, that person or their recording device is not liable for having heard the discussion, rarther I am for discussing it in a venue where it was not likely to have been private discussion as by having it in that venue we have in part consented to that person hearing the discussion.

All this school has done is opened themselves up to provide evidence for scrutiny in regards to the fact that they are not protecting the physical safety of students at their site and making it so that people look into them even harder and start to look for past issues.

[kail]

Charges against her have been dropped according to a post on cnn.

Hopefully that's true. No harm, no foul.

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Its not against the law to defend yourself.

While the kids would doubtably be charged for hitting others, they still end up reprimanded in school. Can't just punch someone because they shove you.