Aggrivated Assault and expulsion

[ttowns]

What is the name of your state? Pennsylvania

Hello i need legal advice fast. My 13 year old daughter was in a fight friday at her school. she says that one girl jumped in her face and the other girl came and hit her from behind, she turned and hit the other girl, they began fighting, and a few of the girls friends were hitting her on the back. then it gets tricky. teachers came to break them up, the vice principle twisted her arm and slammed her against the wall, then the police came and arrested her. inbetween that she supposedly hit a teacher in the back of the head twice. i was told that the teacher said im a teacher and she said so and hit her. thoin speaking with the vice principle the story of the fight changed constantly, he says he didnt know she hit a teacher, then he said he had her restrained and she broke away to hit the teacher then he said he wasn't there to see it, i mean this is the beginning of his contridictions. he even metioned that if i am tape recording him he doesn't agree to be taped, probably because he kept changing the story. I still havent gotton the full report of what happened, i have to go back to the school in the morning to get some more info and then back next tuesday to find out about how she hit this teacher. he told me the superintendent wants her expelled, yet she has to have a hearing where the superintendent will make that decision to expell her. he says that her hitting a girl who attacked her from behind doesn't qualify as self defense because when he got there they were both grabbing each others hair. I keep getting a run around and I dont know what to do. My daughter has never been suspended from school, and especially not for aviolence. she has never gotton into a fight inside or outside of school, this is her first fight ever since she was born. I have had issues with this school district and the teachers lieing about things andsaing stuff that shouldn't have been said. my daughter does not know this teacher at all. one of the girls who fought her has been suspended for fighting before i am aware of once and she started that fight also. my daughter has had issues with the one girl and the school knows that. The 2 girls and the other kids who were hitting my child was hispanic and so is the teacher that says my child hit her. all the girls were arrested and charged with the same thing. the vp is claiming that the other girl punched him in the face twice on purpose. the thing about it is when i was notified of the incident i made the person who called me give the phone to the vp he told me he had been hit i asked was it on purpose he said "no i'm not saying that" now all of a sudden it was intentional. he also claimed that he had my child in a proper restraint yet he was on the phone with me. he says my daughter was still trying to hit the girl while he was holding her, when on the phone with him i asked him where is the other girl, he said that she was gone in another classroom. you see my confusion , he continues to tell conflicting stories. HELP!!

 

[Shay-Pari'e]

I will stay tuned for the Cliff hanger ending.

 

[CdwJava]

First, you should obtain an attorney for your daughter. Chances are the courts will not pursue this with all the vigor it can because it was a mutual affair.

Second, there is certainly a written process in place at the school or district that can tell you how the suspension process works, and what your options and rights are. Find out this information and attend the hearings and start appeals as apporpriate.

The bottom line is your daughter was in a fight ... during the course of that fight she and the others were accused of striking staff - inadvertnently or not, she should not have been fighting. She is likely going to have to take her medicine for her actions. While your daughter says she was attacked from behind, I seriously doubt that hers is the ONLY version of events by the involved girls.

- Carl

 

[ttowns]

yeah im definately going to do that. I dont condone fighting and honestly had i thought my child was bullying other girls and harrassing or hitting teachers maliciously, i would have told the cops to take her to juvenile. I dont play that and believe in kids learning their lessons if they decide to do crazy stuff like that. my issue is i am trying to find out what happened but the principle kept changing his story. the principle had the nerve to tell me that my daughter assaulted the police officer. well when i went to pick her up i am sure the officer would have mentioned that one, he did not, the officer was pretty nice. the principle says he didnt know she hit the teacher then he said well he was there and saw it happen, so im like which one is it, so he went back to saying well it was so much chaos he dont know what happened. you see my frustration. but thanks for the advice.

 

[CdwJava]

my issue is i am trying to find out what happened but the principle kept changing his story.

Chances are good that the principal does not KNOW the whole story. His issue is pretty simple - kids were fighting (in violation of policy), your daughter was involved, a teacher got struck, and the girls are being punished for that. The principal doesn't need to know who did what to whom first to be able to apply administrative discipline.

the principle had the nerve to tell me that my daughter assaulted the police officer.

That may have been his understanding. Or, the officer didn't think it worth mentioning to you. It does not mean that it did NOT happen, only that the officer didn't tell you later.

you see my frustration.

Sure. But, as I mentioned, the school's burden here is rather minimal. All that is needed is a fight on campus and they can act against the involved parties. Unless their policy allows a free pass for a party who alleges to be defending themselves, then the issue of who started what is moot. In this case your daughter seems to admit that she turned around to confront her attacker and the fight was on. Understandable or not, this is unacceptable in most schools.

Find out the process and follow along to see that your daughter's defense is heard.

- Carl

 

[notsmartmark]

As part of your research, please look at this site: http://www.aclupa.org/education/studentmanual/studentdiscipline/expulsions.htm

 

[ttowns]

Chances are good that the principal does not KNOW the whole story. His issue is pretty simple - kids were fighting (in violation of policy), your daughter was involved, a teacher got struck, and the girls are being punished for that. The principal doesn't need to know who did what to whom first to be able to apply administrative discipline.


That may have been his understanding. Or, the officer didn't think it worth mentioning to you. It does not mean that it did NOT happen, only that the officer didn't tell you later.


Sure. But, as I mentioned, the school's burden here is rather minimal. All that is needed is a fight on campus and they can act against the involved parties. Unless their policy allows a free pass for a party who alleges to be defending themselves, then the issue of who started what is moot. In this case your daughter seems to admit that she turned around to confront her attacker and the fight was on. Understandable or not, this is unacceptable in most schools.

Find out the process and follow along to see that your daughter's defense is heard.

- Carl

Thanks very much for all of your insight can we now give someone else a chance to answer I can see your legal expertese by your answers and the pa law that you described to me. you were very helpful in steering me in the right direction and recommending resources. Thanks so much for your help i dont know what i would have done with out all of your legal advice and expertese. when God made you he surely broke the mold. You will receive a special blessing for your helpful legal advice. You must be a supreme court Justice, if not I will write to Mr Bush right away and recoomend you if anyone dies off again. Thanks and Keep up the good work. By the way do you have a web site or fan club for me to join because i owe it all to your un jaded helpful advice. I have read some of your responses to others and wow you are talented. you should reach over the shoulder and pat yourself on the back. Stay Blessed and KNowledgeable dear.

 

[ttowns]

As part of your research, please look at this site: http://www.aclupa.org/education/studentmanual/studentdiscipline/expulsions.htm

Thank you very much for that web site address it will be really helpful. I appreciate it.

 

[CdwJava]

Thanks very much for all of your insight can we now give someone else a chance to answer I can see your legal expertese by your answers and the pa law that you described to me. ... blah, blah, blah ...

Oh, please ... you asked for a possible explanation and I provided one. You can choose to believe that everyone is conspiring against your daughter if you choose to do so, or you can follow the procedures set out by law and school policy to appeal any administrative penalties that might be forthcoming. Complaining about how unfair you believe the system is will do NOTHING to help the situation.

The bottom line is that the principal does NOT know the whole story - and it is very likely NO ONE does; and the principal does not need to know the whole story to apply discipline. Having had to deal with these criminal cases many, many times over the years I can tell you that the details of why the fight started and how it started are very often irrelevent when the issue is as simple as: Did she hit someone? The burden of proof for the courts in a criminal prosecution will be far greater than that needed by the principal and there appears to be sufficient cause in your daughter's admission alone to find her guilty of battery in a criminal court.

So instead of criticizing those who might want to try and help you, perhaps you will go out and seek an attorney to see what you can do to mitigate the criminal charges against her.

Good luck to you both.

- Carl

 

[stealth2]

Thanks very much for all of your insight can we now give someone else a chance to answer I can see your legal expertese by your answers and the pa law that you described to me. you were very helpful in steering me in the right direction and recommending resources. Thanks so much for your help i dont know what i would have done with out all of your legal advice and expertese. when God made you he surely broke the mold. You will receive a special blessing for your helpful legal advice. You must be a supreme court Justice, if not I will write to Mr Bush right away and recoomend you if anyone dies off again. Thanks and Keep up the good work. By the way do you have a web site or fan club for me to join because i owe it all to your un jaded helpful advice. I have read some of your responses to others and wow you are talented. you should reach over the shoulder and pat yourself on the back. Stay Blessed and KNowledgeable dear.

Your dripping sarcasm is a great way to discourage any poster with an ounce of knowledge from providing you any further help. Go pay a lawyer for your answers. Honey-poo deserves it.

 

[ttowns]

Oh, please ... you asked for a possible explanation and I provided one. You can choose to believe that everyone is conspiring against your daughter if you choose to do so, or you can follow the procedures set out by law and school policy to appeal any administrative penalties that might be forthcoming. Complaining about how unfair you believe the system is will do NOTHING to help the situation.

The bottom line is that the principal does NOT know the whole story - and it is very likely NO ONE does; and the principal does not need to know the whole story to apply discipline. Having had to deal with these criminal cases many, many times over the years I can tell you that the details of why the fight started and how it started are very often irrelevent when the issue is as simple as: Did she hit someone? The burden of proof for the courts in a criminal prosecution will be far greater than that needed by the principal and there appears to be sufficient cause in your daughter's admission alone to find her guilty of battery in a criminal court.

So instead of criticizing those who might want to try and help you, perhaps you will go out and seek an attorney to see what you can do to mitigate the criminal charges against her.

Good luck to you both.

- Carl

sorry i didnt have time to read everything that you said. I have a Job. anyway like i said thanks for your helpful advice. Thanks for giving me that website to look at so that I know the procedures of expulsion and school discipline. Thanks for the links that you provided me with. Thanks for directing me to the proper legal codes. you're great

 

[AHA]

sorry i didnt have time to read everything that you said.

So you didn't read it all, but decided to shoot it down based on what little you DID read??!!!! Wow, that's helpful to your kid!
Get her a lawyer if you are so worried, and so nasty to everyone here trying to help FOR FREE!!!

 

[Mbarr77]

Looks to me like the kid is not the only one with the problems!!

 

[ttowns]

So you didn't read it all, but decided to shoot it down based on what little you DID read??!!!! Wow, that's helpful to your kid!
Get her a lawyer if you are so worried, and so nasty to everyone here trying to help FOR FREE!!!

well because what i read the first two times he was tryn to be insulting so why bother reading the rest. you are right tho i should have read it before commenting and blocking the rest of his comments like i did. well we are all human. and to answer his question i have read the school regulations and self defense is just cause. i am not a fighter, and i teach my kids to walk away and not go around hitting people or fighting people as fighting solves nothing, how ever if i was sandwiched between 2 people and one attacked me from behind my reaction would be to defend myself, not only did one person attack her, but many others also jumped in and began hitting her on the back. now if you can honestly say that you allow people to attack you and just stand there and take it. you are truely a saint. Trust me when I say that I am a no nonsense parent and had i been told that she intentionally started the fight and then turned around assaulting teachers, i would have told the officer who chose not to put her in juvenile to lock her up. trust me on my way to that police station i was prepered to tell them to put her in juvenile to teach her the lesson of her life, but when i was informed of all the circumstances, i was like hold up. the principle was there at the fight and i asked him what was going on, and he told me a totally different story than he is making up now. All i am asking is for the truth which keeps changing. If he refuses to believe she was jumped, then i can deal with that, but i deserve to receive the referrel that explains her suspension. he is refusing me that and continues to add on and change it. I have contacted a Lawyer and it is being taken care of so thanks for your free advice. tootles.

and i wasn't nasty,