6/19/2008

Ugh?: "12-Year-Old Grounded for Too Much Internet Use Gets Punishment Overturned in Court"

I assume that this court decision will be overturned on appeal (at least I hope so). Yet, it is bizarre that this case is even in court.

A Canadian court has overturned a father's punishment for his daughter after she refused to stay off the Internet, his attorney said Wednesday.

The girl, 12, took her father to Quebec Superior Court after he refused to allow her to go on a school trip for chatting on Web sites and then posting "inappropriate" pictures of herself online using a friend's computer, AFP reported.

The punishment was for the girl's "own protection," according to the father's attorney, Kim Beaudoin, who is appealing the ruling.

"She's a child," Beaudoin told AFP. "At her age, children test their limits and it's up to their parent to set boundaries. I started an appeal of the decision today to reestablish parental
authority, and to ensure that this case doesn't set a precedent."

Otherwise, she continued, "Parents are going to be walking on egg shells from now on."

According to court documents, the girl's Internet usage was the latest in a rash of disciplinary problems. But Justice Suzanne Tessier, who was presiding over the case, found the punishment too severe.

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1 Comments:

Blogger John A said...

Updates show the kid is an object of custody pleadings during a divorce, and Mommy arranged for the kid to take this to the court. Then, being a court and Mom involved, well, the "winner" a foregone conclusion notwithstanding the actions for which Dad was trying to come up with some non-corporal punishment.

6/20/2008 1:19 PM  

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