Sure the laws against things like marijuana add to it and should be changed, but we also got schools using the courts as a form of discipline now. Here’s a story from a local district here in Ohio:

Two Mason juveniles have been charged for their involvement in sending and possessing nude photos over their cell phones, a practice known as “sexting,” according to the Warren County Prosecutor’s Office.

Both juveniles are charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor, a misdemeanor of the first degree, according to the prosecutor’s office. The third juvenile under investigation will not face criminal charges.

“This is a disturbing and serious trend that we are seeing,” Warren County Prosecutor Rachel Hutzel said in a statement issued late this afternoon, March 4. “Frankly, there should be a better law in place to handle these situations, but there is not.

So how did this become a police matter? Here:

On Wednesday, Feb. 25, a teacher at Mason High School took the device from the boy, who was using it during class, according to School Resource Officer Troy Nelson.

The teacher turned the phone over to an assistant principal, who inadvertently viewed a nude photo of a 15-year-old Mason girl, Nelson said. “Usually, they’re not going to go through the phone, but message after message kept coming in, so they went to turn it off,” Nelson said. “When you flipped it open to turn it off, one of the images was visible right there.”

After the administrator turned in the phone, police found the nude image of a second Mason girl, also 15, Nelson said. That image was captured by the boy’s phone, he said.

So was this girl one of those charged? If that’s the case then what happens if a 6 year old decides to play “doctor” with the neighbor 6 year old? Is that a case of rape?

But there is something even more disturbing about this. When I was in school, only 20 years ago, the school needed a warrant just to search our lockers. Now they can look in a cell phone without warrant or reason? I have a problem buying the whole “it just popped up”. Yeah I’m sure something popped up, but it sure wasn’t the picture.

The prosecutor in this case was talking about felony charges. My guess is that they decided to, because a good defense attorney would get the actual evidence thrown out as improper search and seizure. Charging them with a misdemeanor means they might be more willing to plea or just go with some public defender.

But I still want to know why this is a legal case to begin with. Shouldn’t the principal have acted like, well a principal, and called the parents in for a conference? Instead of trying any kind of discipline in school or at home, the police and courts are now being used as parents. This really needs to change.

After thought –

This really sounds like the right wing agenda filtering down to far in the system. I guess if we can’t get them to take abstinence pledges or abide by them then we will just throw them in jail.