Randy Cassingham's Blog

Posted by Neil, UK on July 17, 2008:

There's so much to be horrified at in this case, yet one detail strikes me (and yes, I know I'm not the first to comment on this):

"he did not think the strip search was a big deal because they did not find anything,"

Has the Principal admitted that he said that? It seems to be synonymous with "we would only have been wrong to violate a student's rights if they were guilty of what we accused them of." If so, he's managed to find a way to make ZT even more nonsensical and unjust.

All I know for a fact is, it's in Savana's sworn affidavit. Your analysis of the concept seems correct to me. -rc

Posted by Scott, in Killeen, TX on July 18, 2008:

Robert, I find it disturbing that mere school officials think that they can override a doctor's judgment in his own field of expertise. I suspect that their own lawyer does not know that they are ignoring doctor orders. I'd expect that to put them in the position of practicing medicine without a license. Maybe your lawyer should inform the school lawyer of what the school officials have been up to. I'm sure that you can find documentation of the deaths mentioned by Randy, and I'm sure that your lawyer can document the wrongful death cases lost (and the money amounts involved) by people who wanted to protect other people from their own critically-important drugs.

3-4 minutes? Really? The nurse never needs to spend long minutes making offerings to the porcelain god (down the hall, of course), never drops the keys (which immediately slide to the least-accessible spot on the floor), never has a twisted ankle, never has a student having seizures in his/her office, never goes to the cafeteria for lunch, and so forth? That's 3-4 minutes only under ideal circumstances, and only a fool expects ideal circumstances.

Randy, don't forget that the US consists of more than just the 50 states.

Posted by Stephanie M, Virginia Beach, VA on July 18, 2008:

This is outrageous - as the parent of a 4 year old I am becoming more and more convinced that we will have to come up with the money for private school. If someone ever did that to my child...well let's just say that I would likely have to leave the state for a few months to prevent inflicting bodily injury on the people that ordered and conducted the search.

13 is the worst possible age for something like this to happen - with the body image issues of girls that age and possible embarrassment of changes her body was going through, this must have been extremely traumatic. The administrator involved needs to be removed from his position and if I were a parent in the school district, I would insist upon it.

Thank you for the insight - I now know that if my child does go to a public school, I will draft a preemptive letter that they will be sued and that I will file charges for battery and some form of child abuse if my son is ever subjected to a search such as this. I'm not sure if the charges would stick, but I would at least make an effort to pursue it criminally and civilly.

Thank you for this important article!

Posted by Sara, LA on July 18, 2008:

The 9th Circuit is the same court that ruled that parents lose all rights to their children and what is taught to them the second they enter the school room door. It does not surprise me that they came so close in their verdict.

These stories are not uncommon. Why do people continue to send their children to public institutions?

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Because they consider them "free", and can't afford private ones. As time goes by, I think parents will start demanding more common sense from the institutions they pay for with their tax dollars. -rc

Posted by Rachel, California on July 18, 2008:

When I was in 9th or 10th grade I was taking some antibiotics, and I attempted to comply with the clear school policy that stated that all prescription drugs brought to school needed to be deposited for safekeeping with the school nurse.

I went to the nurse's office before homeroom and discovered that she didn't arrive for the day until 10 am.

When I finally got in to see her a few hours later, she didn't understand why I wanted her to hold onto my pill bottle. "Does it need to be refrigerated?" she asked. She told me to ignore the school policy and just keep the pill bottle in my purse.

I suspect that there are lots of schools in this country where the official policies don't match up with the infrastructure available to kids who *want* to abide by them.

Posted by Casey, Chicago on July 18, 2008:

That's insane. A thirteen-year-old girl would be... a seventh-grader? -shakes head-

Well, at least those events have paved the way for a better ruling in the future.

Posted by Ernest Junee, Australia on July 18, 2008:

If this had been done to my child, my first reaction would have been to charge the adults involved with assault. Assault does NOT (in most jurisdictions) require actual contact, but simply the threat while in a position to carry out that threat. Clearly the girl felt threatened by orders to remove her clothes, something that should not be permitted without a clear parental or court authority. Even known criminals can't be strip searched without a court order, so why can these people do it. I hope they bust the school district wide open. I also hope they've sued the individuals as individuals as well.

Posted by Eric,Tacoma, Washington on July 18, 2008:

If something like this would have occurred when I went to school, some parent (most likely my own) would have shot the violators and nothing would have been said about it. It is truly a sad state of affairs when judges legislating from the bench can not even make a legitimate decision based on law. The judges should be impeached, the school officials hung, and the lawyers defending this action locked up at best.

Posted by Phil from Melbourne, Australia on July 19, 2008:

If this happened in Australia, the most likely scenario is that the girl's father would belt shit out of the principal, get charged with assault be then be let off with a good behavior bond. The principal would probably be suspended and charged under anti pedophile laws.

We've imported a lot of stuff from the US, but I hope ZT never becomes one of them. The ZT stories are incredible. They just so totally lack common sense.

Posted by Kent, Denmark on July 19, 2008:

This is an appalling story to read, and it strengthens me belief that the American judicial system has to changed, drastically.

The legal system is slow, and there are so many loopholes and ways to get a case dismissed or retried that it causes massive emotional stress for the weaker parties involved.

The whole patent system is laughable, the ZT policies are simply astounding, and the civil liberty act sounds like something from communist Russia or china.

1 Million people on the terrorist watch list?!

I personally think that the best thing that could happen for USA is if someone went and burned the constitution, and then got someone from Canada or one of the Scandinavian countries to write a new one.... or for irony, let Japan do it :) But I'm pretty sure that is an appalling thought to most Americans, who would think I'm a terrorist for just suggesting it.