Florida Criminal Defense Lawyer Blog

Here’s another one courtesy of our neighbors just north of the border. A twelve year old sixth grader from Quebec, Canada didn’t like being grounded and missing a graduation trip with her elementary school class mates, so she filed a lawsuit. Initially, she was ordered by her dad not to go online because she had posted pictures of herself on an internet dating site. However, when she got into a fight with her stepmother, the dad took it up a notch. He told her that she couldn’t go on the three day trip with her friends. The girl went to stay with her mother and then promptly filed a motion asking the court to overturn the punishment. Outrageous! No way the courts would touch this one, right? Well, if that were the case, it wouldn’t make my blog. Unbelievably, Quebec Superior Court Judge Suzanne Tessier ruled that the father’s punishment was out of line. The Judge's reasoning was that the girl had already been sufficiently punished.

This case obviously concerns me. All it takes is one clever American child who reads this story and says, “Hey, I shouldn’t have to sit in time out any more. Also, how dare my parents take away my cell phone. We’ll see what Judge Judy has to say about that!” While it may be good for business, I am willing to forgo the opportunity of defending parents in court if it means that our legal system won’t embrace these ridiculous lawsuits

I’d say “thank God” this one happened in Canada and not here, however, I could see this easily happening on our great country. On May 30, 2008, an educational assistant who works in a special education class with five autistic children at Terry Fox Elementary, made a shocking allegation. She alleged that one of her students, 11 year old Victoria, was being sexually abused. The school then immediately contacted the Children’s Aid Society (Florida’s equivalent of the Department of Children and Family (DCF)) who immediately took action.

The teacher didn’t hear allegations of abuse from the 11 year old autistic child. Rather, she heard the information from a psychic. Yes, I said it…a psychic…a psychic who had never met the little girl. Apparently, the teacher went to see a psychic who asked the teacher if she works with a little girl with the initial “V.” When the teacher said, “yes,” the psychic replied, “Well, you need to know that this girl is being sexually abused by a man between the ages of 23 and 26.”

The girl’s mother, 38 year old Colleen Leduc is a single mom working hard to support herself and her 11 year old autistic daughter. She was sick to her stomach when told that school officials were reporting these false allegations. Leduc was told by officials at the school that the school is required to report suspected abuse if there are “reasonable grounds.”

Fortunately, the case was dismissed, however, Leduc is considering legal action. She fears that next time they might simply choose to take out a Ouija board and/or hold a séance to determine whether something improper took place.

Posted by Mark Eiglarsh | Permalink | Email This Post | Comments (1)

Posted In: Articles of Interest

Imagine a place where failing to mow your lawn could land you in jail. I know what you're thinking...that could only happen in some communist country. Well, think again. In Canton Ohio (that's the Canton Ohio in the United States), homeowners face possible jail time if they are found guilty of a "second high-grass violation." The city council unanimously passed a law making a second violation a misdemeanor, carrying a fine of up to $250 and as many as 30 days in the slammer. The new law takes effect in one month. Mayor William J. Healy II said, "This is the type of action we need to take in order to clean up our neighborhoods and our city,"