Legal Features

Mikel v. School Board of the County of Spotsylvania

Attorneys for The Rutherford Institute have filed a petition for rehearing with the Supreme Court of Virginia, asking the Court to reverse the long-term suspension of a 14-year-old honor student for shooting plastic "spitwads" at school. In December 2010, freshman Andrew Mikel II was kicked out of Spotsylvania High School for the remainder of the school year under a charge that the "spitwad" incident constituted "violent criminal conduct" and possession of a weapon. School officials also referred the matter to local law enforcement for criminal prosecution. Although no one was harmed, the Spotsylvania County Circuit Court upheld the disciplinary action in May 2011.

The Virginia Supreme Court refused to grant the Institute's initial request for an appeal. In asking the Virginia Supreme Court to reconsider hearing the appeal, Institute attorneys have asked the Court to find that Andrew's conduct did not constitute "violent criminal conduct" and that the school's actions were irrational and violated the constitutional guarantee of due process of law.

The Rutherford Institute's petition for rehearing in Mikel v. School Board of the County of Spotsylvania is available here.