Posted on 06/23/2018 12:17:01 PM PDT by Simon Green
A 13-year-old hauled into the principal's office for not serving his detention may end up with the biggest detention of all: a felony conviction. That's because the kid recorded the conversation on his phone.
The incident took place last February at Manteno Middle School, which is about an hour outside of Chicago. Young Paul Boron was arguing with Principal David Conrad and Assistant Principal Nathan Short.
About ten minutes into the meeting, which was held with the door open, Boron told the men he was recording it. At that point, the principal told Boron he was committing a felony and ended the conversation. But then, according to the Illinois Policy Center:
Two months later, in April, Boron was charged with one count of eavesdropping – a class 4 felony in Illinois.
"If I do go to court and get wrongfully convicted, my whole life is ruined," said Boron, who lives with his mother and four siblings..."I think they're going too far."
.... Members of the Manteno Community Unit School District No. 5 board, Conrad and Short have not responded to requests for comment on the incident.
Unfortunately for Boron, there is a law against recording people without their consent in Illinois. There's even a rule against it in the student handbook. But the handbook also says that it is fine for the school to have video cameras monitoring the public areas of the building. In other words, it's fine to keep the kids under constant surveillance, just not the administrators.
Illinois law is tough on citizens who "eavesdrop." For example, the Policy Center reports, "Michael Allison was charged with a felony for recording his own court hearing after the court did not provide a court reporter"—a case crazy enough to bring Orwell storming back from the grave.
At one point, the state's law saying all parties who are being recorded must consent was struck down. But a new eavesdropping law popped right back up with a carve-out for citizens recording police encounters.
All of which means Boron's middle school misbehavior could end up on his permanent record. Sometimes the law is neglectful of liberty, and no friend to tech savy 13-year-olds. It would be a terrible tragedy if Boron was forced into the criminal justice system for such a silly infraction.
If only he was an illegal, then it wouldn’t be held against him!
Liberals constantly accuse conservatives of being “Hitler” and taking away their rights. Yet, time and time again, the biggest violators of civil rights are consistently Liberals.
Who is demanding to have civil rights taken away?
Who has police monitoring cell phones without a warrant?
Who has the most restrictive gun controls?
In every circumstance, it’s Dems.
Bing!
This was not a private conversation. The carve out permitting taping of police may well not have been broad enough.
It will be litigated.
Kids in school don't have the full range of Constitutional protections, but this might be a good test case for the new version of the law. It's not clear to me how a meeting between a school official (other than a nurse or guidance counselor) and a child can ever be a "private meeting." This case might go somewhere if there's interested money.
Recording the truth is not allowed in communist Chicago!!!
Under no circumstances should the recording of any public employee while conducting their duties should be forbidden. The public should always have the unrestricted and universal right to make such recordings as they deem fit. Public employees when conducting official business should have zero expectation of privacy.
I’m just shocked that the public employee didn’t immediately demand the recording be deleted and simply ended the conversation.
As for the case, trial by jury, ask the people if the boy should go to jail because some public employee didn’t want his words recorded. Shouldn’t take more than a few minutes for the jury to find him not guilty.
Nuts! I missed that one in my obvious list. :\
Almost every business phone number automated attendant begins with “for training and supervisory purposes this call may be recorded or monitored”.
But you don’t get an option like “To accept these terms, press 1. Otherwise hang up”.
Kid is a minor. The principal should have called in his parent. How’s that for getting particular?
>>Wish we’d known ahead of time to bring a recorder.
You probably had one in your purse/pocket. Most smartphones can act as an audio recorder.
The Democrats in Illinois are trying to separate this kid from his parents.
Kid’s lawyer doesn’t know how to play the game. Claim the Kid felt ‘Uncomfortable’ around the Principle, after inappropriate behavior.
Principal David Conrad and Assistant Principal Nathan Short sound like a couple of petty tyrants and bullies.
Why does it seem like so many idiots and misfits are drawn to positions of ‘authority’ that they are so unsuited to hold?
Both parties are made aware ... My Wife (attorney) will check me when ever I’m planning to do something that could/will, bite me in the @ss. I was very close to recording a review to nail someone but I would’ve been crushed.
I’m sure the felony charge was brought as a warning to others.
“what possible harm would come of recording the conversation?”
What if the teacher wanted to ask the kid for sex? The law is to protect the predatory teachers.
Secretly recording a conversation with a principal or administrator has become standard practice among NYC teachers, to protect themselves from false accusations. And, in NY, it’s perfectly legal to record a conversation so long as the recording party is present in the meeting. Perhaps it’s not legal where this kid goes to school.
Whoa...
Now that’s scary.
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