Here's something else about efforts by the Anderson, Indiana, school system to extort nearly $41,000 from parents who sued it over the fascist dress code.
It turns out that the parents who sued tried to drop the suit when right-wing U.S. District Judge John Tinder made it clear he was going to make them pay the $41,000 if they didn't. (How's that for bullying from the bench?) But when they tried dropping the case, they got a letter telling them they weren't allowed to. (Ooh, an Allowed Cloud!)
In other words, they were required to drop the case, but at the same time weren't allowed to drop the case. And so, the fix was in.
Also, a correction to NewsLink Indiana's report: The article says that "precedent says" that if you lose a lawsuit, you have to pay the winner's legal fees. Actually, quite the opposite is true, at least in cases like this. It was a longstanding legal principle that if a person sues an agency and loses, they don't have to pay the agency's legal bills. Anyone who thinks "precedent says" the opposite has been reading too much Contract With America legal theory.
Hopefully the plaintiffs will continue to refuse to pay the $41,000.
(Source: http://www.newslinkindiana.com/index.php?src=news&refno=1266&category=Headlines)
Friday, December 28, 2007
More about the Anderson school shakedown
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Fascinating case...I've followed it all year.
ReplyDeleteThe family who sued had to raise money just for the filing fee. Fortunately they have a city councilman named Ollie Dixon who helped them raise money.
(Dixon is a Democrat and is probably the highest-ranking anti-uniform elected official in America. The city of Anderson has only 70,000 people tops, but he's the highest-ranking uniform opponent in the country!)
I can tell you right now the school is out of luck if the people refuse to pay the $41K. The school has no leg to stand on.
who the fuck would even want to send their kids to a school like this?
ReplyDeleteit seems like they'd shop around for a different district first before suing them.....i thought NCLB required schools to let you choose your district? (that's about the only good thing about NCLB!)
That is a misconception. It only applies if you go to a "failing" school.
ReplyDeleteThe Republicans have blocked open enrollment for years.