On The Front Lines
Zero Tolerance Alert: Seventh-Grader Expelled from Middle School for Handling Classmate's Miniature Laser Pointer
Citing Violation of 14th Amendment, Rutherford Institute Attorneys Appeal to District Court for Weld County on Behalf of Mitch MullerGREELEY, Colo.-- Attorneys for The Rutherford Institute have filed an appeal in the District Court for Weld County on behalf of 13-year-old Mitch Muller and his mother Lova Zahary in response to his expulsion from North Valley Middle School for handling a classmate's miniature laser pointer during class. School officials claim that Mitch, who had never been subject to any disciplinary action in school, was in violation of a school policy banning firearm facsimiles, because the laser pointer, which had a bright orange tip on the "barrel," resembled a gun. Institute attorneys argue that expelling Mitch for possession of a so-called "firearm facsimile" without the benefit of a public hearing is a violation of his Fourteenth Amendment rights. Although Mitch completed a six-week alternative program in Greeley that allowed him to return to school, Institute attorneys are seeking to have the expulsion be set aside and erased from his permanent record.
On November 19, 2002, Mitch observed a classmate playing with what appeared to be a laser pointer during business class. Mitch asked to see the toy and began playing with it, shining the red dot on the wall in the classroom. Mitch played with the toy for no more than a couple of minutes and returned the toy to his classmate. However, having observed the red dot on the wall, the teacher held all of the students in class until the student produced the toy. Although the toy was shaped like a miniature gun, at no time did Mitch or anyone else believe that the toy was or could be mistaken for a real gun. The next day the school principal began an investigation into the incident and interrogated all three boys. All three boys were subsequently expelled for "possession of a firearm facsimile." Institute attorneys insist that the laser pointer was too small to be mistaken for a weapon and that board members violated Colorado's open meetings laws when they failed to conduct Mitch's appeal hearing in public. Furthermore, Institute attorneys claim that Valley Re-1 School District officials violated Mitch's due process rights by not providing evidence pertinent to his case at his expulsion hearing.
"Compassion and common sense need to be restored to the classroom," said John W. Whitehead, president of The Rutherford Institute. "A good student should not be thrown out of school and have his future threatened for a few moments of curiosity with a friend's harmless toy."
The Rutherford Institute is an international, nonprofit civil liberties organization committed to defending constitutional and human rights.
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