Student Faces Criminal Charges For Teacher Jokes

[HummerNewbie]

HENRY COUNTY, Ga. -- A Henry County high school student is facing criminal charges after posting comments about his teacher on the Web site, MySpace.com, reported WSB-TV in Atlanta.


The teacher has filed defamation of character charges against the student, Alex Davis, 15.

Eagle?s Landing High School science teacher Robert Muzzillo pursued the charges against Davis after noticing a profile with his name attached on MySpace.com.


The profile talked about Muzzillo liking Michael Jackson and having a "gay old time," like the Fred Flintstone song.


Davis said he only wrote that Muzzillo lost an eye wrestling with alligators and midgets. The teen said it was just a prank and meant as a joke.


When the school found out that Davis was involved, he received three days in-school suspension. Then he learned the teacher had filed charges against him.


"I have finals coming up and I have to study and instead I have to go to court," Davis said.

Davis' father said the charges are a waste of the court's time.


"This has all gotten kinda bizarre," Andy Davis said.


The Davis' have hired attorney Lee Sexton to handle the case.


"It's just silly stuff about a teacher they were just joking about. It's gotten way out of hand," Sexton said.




WTF, they suspended the kid for something he did outside of school? Well, I assume he did it while he was at home. I think he should counter sue that liberal piece of sh!t

[The Green Lantern]

GOOD for him!!!!......MySpace.com is Gheto!!! I would do the same if someone uses my name and pics without my knowledge and approval.

[f5fstop]

School should not get involved with a suspension. However, defamation is defamation, it is time parents understood what their kids are doing, and that includes the Internet. Kid may just learn a valuable lesson.

[Sewie]

Originally Posted by f5fstop

School should not get involved with a suspension. However, defamation is defamation, it is time parents understood what their kids are doing, and that includes the Internet. Kid may just learn a valuable lesson.

Agreed.

Davis said he only wrote that Muzzillo lost an eye wrestling with alligators and midgets.

But that's funny right there.

[PARAGON]

Are you kidding me? He's still a kid. They defame other's character everyday. Sometimes justly and unjustly. School suspension has now become the replacement for discipline.

Yeah, the kid can learn a lesson. But he's being taught the wrong one. It's not defamation if no possible harm to one's character or reputation occurs. If derogatory remarks are so outlandish as to not be believable, then they do not amount to defamation.

Being the brunt of a joke does not amount to being defamed.

[f5fstop]

Agreed, kids to defame people everyday. However, they defamed a teacher on a public website. I'm not saying the kid should be forced to work his life to pay for a court judgment, in fact, since he is a minor, mom and dad will have to pay it (if awarded). I'm not even saying the guy should win any money, but I bet mommy and daddy will be more observant of what little Johnny posts on the web from this day forward.
It's one thing to imply to another kid that teacher ** is gay, but to imply this on a public website is, in my humble opinion, over the line.

[evldave]

I dunno. Where do you draw the line? If you've got a blog (which is essentially what myspace is), you can't voice your opinion? It's essentially restriction of free speech because someone (the teacher) doesn't like what they (the student) has to say.

From what I remember in my pre-law days (a long long time ago in a galaxy far away), you have to prove a tangible 'loss' as a result of this. Given that pretty much everyone who actually uses or knows anything about myspace knows its the world's biggest clusterf*ck of ideas/opinions, I can't see the teacher winning the suit.

Here's a good one for you: If the student had voiced his opinion to some friends at home, filmed it, then posted the video on the internet via google to another friend somewhere far away to view, would it also be justified to sue him? I think courts or the legislature are going to have a hard time distinguishing between the public/private/blog aspect of defamation/libel/slander soon...

[MovinH2]

Originally Posted by f5fstop

School should not get involved with a suspension. However, defamation is defamation, it is time parents understood what their kids are doing, and that includes the Internet. Kid may just learn a valuable lesson.

X2

[bparker]

What happened to free speech? Do we yet again forget the valuable supreme court case People vs Larry Flint?

[f5fstop]

There are limits to free speech. You can't threaten someone's life, you can't yell fire in a theater, and you face civil charges for defamation of character. I don't believe Larry Flint was defaming anyone, he was publishing photos of willing people, and the religious right did not like it.
However, SCOTUS ruled in Roth v. United States (in 1957) that 'obscene' material has no protection under the First Amendment. According to the Court, the guarantees of the freedom of expression were never meant to be absolute protection for every possible utterance of any sort - therefore, some standards are reasonable to set.

In New York Times Co. v. Sullivan, 376 U.S. 254 (1964), the court ruled, "Factual error, content defamatory of official reputation, or both, are insufficient to warrant an award of damages for false statements unless "actual malice" -- knowledge that statements are false or in reckless disregard of the truth -- is alleged and proved."

We will probably never know what finally happens in this case.

[bparker]

But I thought he was defaming Rev Jerry Fartwell =) Wasnt that the point of the case?

Originally Posted by f5fstop

I don't believe Larry Flint was defaming anyone

[ratesguy]

Yeah, I think he had a cartoon of Fallwell getting teh buttsecks and Fallwell sued for defamation. That case was not an obscenity case, but rather a case of satire vs. defamation. Fallwell lost. Also, all of you out there sure better monitor your kids postings and use of myspace. Bad things go on there, and bad people (pervs) hang out there. Spoken as the father of a 16 y/o girl and 14 y/o boy, not as a perv. I really don't think the teacher has a case, though. It sounds like satire or some such. Not cool tho.

[Sewie]

Originally Posted by ratesguy

Yeah, I think he had a cartoon of Fallwell getting teh buttsecks and Fallwell sued for defamation. That case was not an obscenity case, but rather a case of satire vs. defamation. Fallwell lost.

Falwell actually won the lawsuit in two lower courts before it reached the Supreme Court.

And the reason Flynt finally won was because the cartoon was so absurd that a reasonable person would never believe it. The cartoon said that he lost his virginity to his mother while drunk in an outhouse. There was also the fact that Falwell was a public figure.

While the teacher may not have a case, I think its important that the student learns that his actions may have consequences. It may be a lesson for the parents as well.

[f5fstop]

Falwell is an idiot. As for the kid, make him work at GM when he graduates. That will be punishment enough for anyone.

[evldave]

Originally Posted by f5fstop

Falwell is an idiot. As for the kid, make him work at GM when he graduates. That will be punishment enough for anyone.

lol! I wonder what his myspace page would say about Wagoner?

[f5fstop]

Originally Posted by evldave

lol! I wonder what his myspace page would say about Wagoner?

He did cut his pay from 4+ million a year to 2+ million a year, so he's trying. I bet the family has to shop at Walmarts and the local Salvation Army store. A fifty percent pay cut is pretty steep.

[h2co-pilot]

Interesting on the First Amendment front considering a teacher or principal could be recognized as a public figure or even an involuntary one. Though, I believe there is specific laws (prolly judgemade) for defamation and libel concerning student blogging and social sites such as myspace.

Myspace= anyway, there is proposal in Congress to ban access to those kinda sites on educational properties. Not relevent to this case but I hope they pass it. No parental supervision, a stomping ground for criminals and a waste of educational funds IMO.

[ShaggyX]

Originally Posted by h2co-pilot

Myspace= anyway, there is proposal in Congress to ban access to those kinda sites on educational properties. Not relevent to this case but I hope they pass it. No parental supervision, a stomping ground for criminals and a waste of educational funds IMO.

Exactly...punish the many for the stupidity of the few. Maybe if we started holding kids and parents accountable for their own actions...you know that wonderful thing called "Personal Responsibility"...then maybe they would stop being dumbasses and putting themselves into those situations. Enforce a "you made your bed, now sleep in it" law that prevents these moronic parents from suing because they were too lazy to teach their kids better then that.

I say leave myspace up everywhere. Require each student about 12 and older make a page to see what they do with it. Worst case it would just be an act of darwinism. The dipsh1t who decides to meet too many older people online doesn't live long enough to produce dipsh1ts of their own. Seems like it would make the world a better place if you ask me. Weed out the dumb ones.

Disclaimer: Not defending what the "predators" are doing in any way. Just find it hard to feel sorry for the parents or the kids.

[Fubar]

Quote: "punish the many for the stupidity of the few. Maybe if we started holding kids and parents accountable for their own actions...you know that wonderful thing called "Personal Responsibility"

I couldn't agree more. Far too many parents (people for that matter) want to blame someone else or something else for everything & anything that goes wrong with their life's. Instead of taking responsibility for their actions and for those whom they are in care of.

Like Shaggy, I'm not defending the predators on Myspace or the predators in general that can be found anywhere on the web.

The best that you can do for those you care about is teach them right from wrong and start teaching it to them at a young age. Kids are smarter then you give them credit for and wiser sooner than you think.

[h2co-pilot]

Originally Posted by ShaggyX

Exactly...punish the many for the stupidity of the few. Maybe if we started holding kids and parents accountable for their own actions...you know that wonderful thing called "Personal Responsibility"...then maybe they would stop being dumbasses and putting themselves into those situations. Enforce a "you made your bed, now sleep in it" law that prevents these moronic parents from suing because they were too lazy to teach their kids better then that.

I say leave myspace up everywhere. Require each student about 12 and older make a page to see what they do with it. Worst case it would just be an act of darwinism. The dipsh1t who decides to meet too many older people online doesn't live long enough to produce dipsh1ts of their own. Seems like it would make the world a better place if you ask me. Weed out the dumb ones.

Disclaimer: Not defending what the "predators" are doing in any way. Just find it hard to feel sorry for the parents or the kids.

So you are saying that myspace should be allowed in schools?

I think not. Parents are unable to monitor their children while their children are in school. And to believe that all children should have the street/web smarts to protect themselves in an evolving skill of mind fawk would be naive. Predators are crafty in provoking the primitive brains of the young and honing in on their insecurites to gain control of their victims. Allowing a child- and yes- I mean 18 and under, to go on any social site such as that unsupervised is ludicrous. And anyone that is familiar with the already waning teacher to child ratios in any school would realize the impossibilty of proper supervision under those circumstances. Even if the socializing is safe and harmless- A school and it's properties funded by the government and tuitions should not be used for social activities that are not approved. The internet is gaining to be a reality and I certainly would not want my children socializing on myspace (mostly needy single people with a tendency to whore their useless personal info for attention- IMO ) just like I would not want them socializing in a local bar- not with my money or their study time.



Like I mentioned before, the proposed law has nothing to do with this case as the student probably posted from home- without parental supervision.

This site is interesting though:

http://www.ratemyteachers.com/