Wis. student arrested, accused of defaming administrator

[Judi Lynn]

Wis. student arrested, accused of defaming administrator

By The Associated Press
05.17.06
A western Wisconsin high school student was arrested at school after officials accused him of altering a sexually suggestive poster about liquor to add a photo of the school's athletic director, and then tacking it on a school bulletin board.

The 18-year-old La Crosse Central senior's crime? Defamation, an investigator said yesterday.
(snip)

Prosecutors have not filed charges against Broer, who was taken to jail in handcuffs, though he is scheduled to make an initial court appearance on May 23, according to the La Crosse County district attorney's office.

La Crosse Police Lt. Bob Berndt said Broer was arrested May 12 after he used school computers to retrieve a parody ad featuring Captain Morgan rum and to superimpose the athletic director's picture over the face of a man in the ad.
(snip/...)

http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/news.aspx?id=16906

[Occulus]

1. Isn't defamation usually handled in civil court? n/t

[crankybubba]

2. interesting

defamation is usually civil in nature (i.e. suing someone) not criminal. prob an old statute used and abused

[murielm99]

3. Crap. This is a high school prank.

Have his parents in and give him a severe talking-to. Put him in in-school suspension maybe, and make him apologize. This is over the top.

[trixie]

7. I agree

Can't handle the heat working with kids then don't.

[rodeodance]

13. we forget that kids can't be kids anymore.

really, I see it as a HS prank also.

[roguevalley]

28. that happened to myself and the women on our school's staff

AND I can tell you I didn't consider it a prank. It ended up in a HUGE fucking mess and I, I the victim got my ass handed to me. I don't consider it a prank. Have it happen to you. Then tell me its a prank.

[ceile]

4. How is this a criminal matter? n/t

[saigon68]

5. A great use of police resources

Meanwhile children are being molested, cars being hi-jacked etc.

[DBoon]

9. Exactly. Suspend him for a few days

Isn't there enough REAL crime around?

[FSogol]

6. Ridiculous. His punishment should be to pick up trash around the school

building for 2 weeks after school. Why is our society so quick to take small pranks and turn them into serious crimes?

[Ian David]

8. You know what happens next, don't you? The next great 'Net-Meme!

Thousands of Internet activists and even more people who are merely bored, will now post their own versions of the Athletic Director Joe Beran, and... most importantly... Central Principal Tom Barth who suspended the student.

More:
http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/news.aspx?id=16906

Viva La Captain!

[DBoon]

10. just wait til this hits Fark!

that school will regret this action

[MindPilot]

11. What happens to someone who commits a real crime?

The problem with this kind of stuff is that it trivializes real criminal activity. Senior prank go to jail, steal a car, go to jail. Hey, might as well steal the car.

[noel adamson]

29. Nothing

Very little but the most trivial matters, political smears and racist prosecutions fill our courts while real criminals freely walk the halls of power and your neighborhood. Susan McDougall was incarcerated in a red jump suit reserved for violent offenders along with mothers who killed their children and similar heinous crimes for failing to help frame Clinton for the Richard Mellon Scaife and the other fascists.

http://www.kcl.ac.uk/depsta/rel/icps/worldbrief/highest_to_lowest_rates.php world prison stats

http://prisonactivist.org/?q= prison activist org

[Ian David]

12. Tom Barth and Joseph Beran: They need a little Captain in 'em!

Administration
Department Members
Principal Thomas Barth


(Oh dead gawd... their principal is "Mister Whipple?"




Send your PhotoShop creations to:

[phone] Ext. 4005
[e-mail]


Athletic Director Joseph Beran
Joseph Beran



[phone] Ext. 4020
[e-mail]


1801 Losey Blvd, South
La Crosse, WI 54601
[phone]

More:
http://www.lacrosseschools.com/central/departments/index.html

Remember the phrase, "It's not the crime, it's the cover-up"?

Well...

It's not the "crime," it's the backlash that comes after the suppression!

[saigon68]

14. These are AssClowns

I hope they like the attention

I wonder how many DUIs and other problems they have?

Here is the link go for it


http://wcca.wicourts.gov/index.xsl

[Ian David]

17. Does Athletic Director Joseph Beran obey the mandatory seatbelt law?

Some people say he does not.

[Tight_rope]

15. The punishment does not fit the crime.

This kid pulls a HS prank and goes to jail, however, Ken Lay steals millions if not billions, and disrupts the world and gets to walk around a free man. What a fucked up society we live in.

[Blackhatjack]

16. Clearly the Thought Police Are On Duty!!

I have to wonder what the charges would have been if he downloaded a pic of Superman and superimposed the Athletic Director's face on that pic?

I guess you cannot criticize any official of the government, even school employees.

So much for free speech and right to petition government(and its employees).

In any event, all the AD had to do was laugh it off. Sheesh. How many taxpayer dollars are they spending on a matter of taste? Outrageous that he was arrested and taken away in handcuffs.
Even Enron's CEO Ken Lay, who fleeced millions of people, avoided that treatment.

[rinsd]

18. Anyone else thinking of PCU and the "Everyone Gets Laid" flier?

[Solo_in_MD]

19. It wont hold as a criminal case

But since he used a school computer, he is basically at the mercy of the school board about continuing in school there. Had should have done it outside of campus and posted it on a web site. That way when they came after him he could take them for some cash. Recent judgements these days are running around 100K.

[mumon]

20. What about the first amendment?

Under state law, a person can be convicted of defamation for holding up or exposing someone to "hatred, contempt, ridicule, degradation or disgrace" without the consent of the person, Berndt said.

Sounds like "state law" is blatantly unconstitutional.

[Tesha]

21. You don't have an unlimited right to say anything, especially...

> Under state law, a person can be convicted of defamation for
> holding up or exposing someone to "hatred, contempt, ridicule,
> degradation or disgrace" without the consent of the person,
> Berndt said.
>
> Sounds like "state law" is blatantly unconstitutional.

You don't have an unlimited right to say anything, especially
things you know to be untrue, but I think we both know that
this is yet another of those cases where the prosecutor will
shortly find some reason not to press the case and hope like
heck that the kid is willing to let bygones be bygones.

Tesha

[Zynx]

22. Defamation is not protected speech.

[patcox2]

23. Satire is not defamation.

Falwell v. Hustler

[yellowcanine]

25. An neither is parody. In any case it is not a criminal offense. It

would have civil penalties only and the aggrieved party would have to sue.

[depakid]

27. In some respects IT CERTAINLY IS

You might want to bone up on your 1st Amendment law before you make another ridiculous assertion like that.

[KurtNYC]

24. Handcuffed because he drove on a suspended license

at least that is the way I read the bottom of the article.

Defamation is a weak charge especially in this case. If Gary Condit could not sue Faux for their 24/7 diatribe ("just confess Gary Condit! You murderer!") this coach has no chance.

A stupid prank that really shouldn't have required police attention IMHO.

[depakid]

26. Zero tolerance pettiness again....

Last I heard there's NO SUCH CRIME as defamation. It's a civil matter.

Then again, America no longer respects or applies its laws- and most Americans seem just fine with that.

Yet another reason I'm glad that I don't have kids.