Another one about lawyers (1 Viewer)

[Keith Mickunas]

This case is still blatantly unfair. Unless they start prosecuting all cheaters, they shouldn't prosecute this one. He is only being charged because he used a computer. Heck, he didn't even have to break into the computer, it was just sitting there. If using this computer to changes his grades is such a horrible crime that the kid needs to be arrested and thrown in juvenile detention for it, then the teacher needs to be charged for leaving it accessible. If changing grades is such a dangerous thing that it requires a police response, not securing those grades is clearly reckless and must be treated the same. The teacher is also responsible to some extent for their kids actions while under their care.

Just think, if this kid managed to pass this one class, it could break down the entire educational system in the United States. We should lock him up and throw away the key. Changing grades cannot go unpunished!

 

[Reginald Trent]

Quote:

Who will this case actually end up deterring from doing the same? All the 11-year-olds who watch MSNBC and read the Wall Street Journal? Maybe it will stop kids in that same school from cheating-by-computer, but it will have zero effect on kids at large.
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Quote:

Just think, if this kid managed to pass this one class, it could break down the entire educational system in the United States. We should lock him up and throw away the key. Changing grades cannot go unpunished!
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Exactly, I don't understand why those that disagree don't/can't see this. Prosecuting this case is the equivalent of hunting rabbits with a elephant gun.

Absolutely preposterous.

 

[Yee-Ming]

call it, "in the wrong place in the wrong time".

yes, there is unfairness in the judicial system, many think that this is a disproportionate response to schoolboy hi-jinks. but if a deterrent needs to be set, someone gets to be that deterrent, and this kid happens to be it.

life ain't fair. that's life.

 

[Reginald Trent]

Yee-Ming, with all due respect, this scenario should not be reduced to a pop catchphrase "life ain't fair. that's life." When you consider all of the specifics of this case it simply is not serious enough to justify such a heavy handed response from prosecutors. I would be curious to know if this prosecutor is just as hard on real criminals i.e. murders, robbers, thieves, official misconduct etc.

It would be interesting to see her investegated by the media to see how many real criminals she has plea bargained with to reduce their prison time.

 

[Brian Perry]

He is only being charged because he used a computer...Just think, if this kid managed to pass this one class, it could break down the entire educational system in the United States. We should lock him up and throw away the key. Changing grades cannot go unpunished!

While in this case it sounds as though the kid was changing only his own grades, I think it is important to state the seriousness of someone being able to change other people's grades. And since using a computer is the easiest way to do so on a large scale, I think there should be a heightened severity to the penalties.

Would you like it if someone were able to somehow change your child's grades from As to Ds and jeopardize their future? Let's say someone gets access to the SAT or ACT system. I don't fear the person making his or her score better as much as that person tampering with other scores.

I do think the security of these systems is the responsibility of the school and administrators, but as someone else said, leaving the door unlocked is not an excuse for theft.

 

[Keith Mickunas]

The thing is, using a computer was totally irrelevant to the severity of this offense. But its the reason he's being charged with a felony. If he had seen a gradebook and opened it up and changed his grades, do you think he would have been arrested? That is the same as the offense he committed.

If he had gotten onto a computer in the library, and figured out how to crack his teacher's or the administrator's account and then changed his grades, then it would be more serious. That would be a computer crime IMHO.

The treatment of computer crimes should be the same as a similar crime not requiring a computer. This kid should be punished the same as if he had found the grade book on her desk and changed the grades. If he had to get past a password, it should be treated like he broke into a locked desk. And if he had used a computer outside the room, it should be like he broke into the room, and so on.

The boy should be punished for changing his grades, that's it, nothing more. The fact that he used a computer is totally irrelevant and shouldn't change the severity of the offense. The computer also didn't help make the changes worse, nor did access to it increase the risk to other students any more than if the teacher used a grade book.

 

[Todd Hochard]

Let's say someone gets access to the SAT or ACT system.

Of course, it wouldn't be an 11-year old doing this, now would it?

 

[Reginald Trent]

Keith Mickunas, you'll never get agreement on that because it makes too much sense.

 

[Yee-Ming]

Reginald, fair point, but I've seen enough nonsense in the legal system (yes, I am a lawyer, although I don't practice criminal law, only civil litigation) to say that it really is sometimes a case of catching the right or wrong breaks.

in this case, the kid is catching a really bad break, whether it's motivated by a prosecutor going overboard or wanting to make a name for herself for political advancement, but regrettably that's the way it works.

the bottom line is the kid broke the strict letter of the law. whether the strict letter should be implemented or not is another issue and falls into the vague and capricious realm of human discretion, and when something winds up at the whims and fancies of someone, it really can go either way.

I am not disagreeing outright with those who feel that the kid should be given a break, just pointing out that you don't always get them. I've also opined that this case will probably plead out to a non-custodial sentence, no doubt in part to responses from people in that community similar to those on this board feeling the kid should be given a chance.

 

[Ryan Wright]

Why is this any more acceptable?

I can't believe you're comparing driving drunk and injuring someone with editing a file on an unlocked computer. Talk about blowing things out of proportion.

I suppose every child who glances at a classmate's test deserves jail time? It's all cheating no matter how you throw the dice.

This type of police state bullshit is why my child is homeschooled. Cheating in school is a problem for the SCHOOL to handle, not the police. You'd think the authorities would have something better to do, like prosecuting drug dealers and drunk drivers - you know, real criminals. I'm sure this 11 year old boy is such a threat to society he needs to spend a couple of years in jail. :rolleyes

All you people calling for harsh punishment make me sick. What if that was your child? Would you like to see your 11 year old boy locked up in JAIL for two years because he cheated on his tests? Really, what the hell is wrong with society when adults think it's perfectly OK to put 11 year olds in jail for cheating? Throw the kid out of school for a week, ground him for a month, and I guaran-damn-tee you he will never do it again. If this prosecutor was in my city, I'd be organizing an angry mob right now...

 

[Todd K]

http://www.gopbi.com/partners/pbpost...1216310b0.html


Looks like this kid will actually get off with an appropriate punishment. I think we've argued this thing to death, but I just wanted to give some closure.