I often run a weekly "Friday Favorites" post, while over at Highered Intelligence, Michael Lopez has a much more interesting tradition: Dumbass (Quote) of the Week.
And this one's a doozy:
DUMB-ASS QUOTE OF THE WEEK! Yes, it has returned. There have been mercifully few candidates as of late, but Daryl points the way to one in this article about a girl suspended for bringing a pencil sharpener to school. [Note: the link appears to be down.] I'll admit, it looks like a plain old straight razor in miniature, and that's effectively what it is. But those little plastic ones have a razor in them that can be taken out by unscrewing the screw, and sharp pencils themselves are a dangerous weapon. It's not the weapons, its the attitude. Anyway, the girl was suspended for bringing the pencil sharpener she's used all her life to school. The school district has this to say:
District officials said they had no choice but to follow their zero-tolerance policy to the letter, however.
"If we vary from the rules, that's when the rules fall apart," said Christopher B. Gilbert, an attorney for the district.
No, if you vary from the rules parents want to know why. The rules don't fall apart, the school district simply gets sued by a thousand parents who all want to know why Johnny didn't get suspended when their kid did.
But that's not what due process is. Due Process means giving everyone a fair hearing, not treating everyone exactly the same all the time. You have to treat people in similar circumstances similarly, but even then they don't need to be treated the same. Criminals don't all serve the same sentences for the same crimes; there are sentencing ranges. And there's no need to suspend every single student who brings an item that could theoretically be used as a weapon.
That's not Due Process, that's Dupe Excess. And Mister Gilbert, while I appreciate the situation you are in because of who your client is, you also have a duty to be a thinking human being as well as an attorney. As one attorney to another....
Congratulations. You have won the Dumb Ass of the Week award here on Highered Intelligence.
Does Mr. Gilbert get a trophy for that?
Posted by kswygert at October 24, 2003 03:34 PM