Facebook & the Law...




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It is no secret that teenagers have come to rely on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to document every aspect of their lives. It is easy to get lost in the online world of social media and think that because you’ve set your profile to “private”, what you post online will have no repercussions. This blog post will outline some of the possible consequences of documenting too much of your information through social media.

It has become increasingly known that many employers do a Facebook search of their potential employees before they even have a chance to introduce themselves. In most cases, these searches will turn employers away from the candidate before even interviewing them. However, what is not as well known is the fact that universities do the same. According to a Kaplan Test Prep survey from 2011, 24% of college admission officers in the United States admitted to using social networks such as Facebook to learn more about their candidates (Schaffer and Wong). 

What is perhaps more important to know is that even if you’ve set your profile to “private”, Facebook reserves the right to “access, preserve and share information when [they] have a good faith belief it is necessary to: detect, prevent and address fraud and other illegal activity” (Facebook), as outlined in their privacy policy. This means that what you post online can and will be used against you if you are suspected of committing a crime. We need only look at the recent arrest of 18-year-old Jacob Cox-Brown to realize the repercussions of some status updates: Jacob, who hit two cars while driving under the influence and fled the scene, proceeded to post about it on Facebook: “Drivin drunk... classic ;) but to whoever’s vehicle i hit i am sorry. :P” (qtd. in Gorrow). A few of his “friends” contacted the local police, who until then had no leads on the perpetrator of the hit-and-run. While the Facebook evidence was not enough to convict Jacob of drunk driving, they were able to match the car registered to Jacob’s name to the damage done at the hit-and-run scene. Consequently, Jacob was charged with “failure to perform the duties of a driver” (Gorrow).

http://i.i.com.com/cnwk.1d/i/tim/2013/01/04/teen-facebook-drunk_620x350.jpg

Another, more surprising example of Facebook information use by the government is the story of Paula Asher. Paula is an 18-year-old girl who landed in jail for refusing to take down her Facebook page after she posted prior to her court date: “My dumbass got a DUI and hit a car LOL” (qtd. in Ashe), which the judge was not very pleased with.

Facebook information is also often used local high schools when problems in a school arise. Students in Ontario who use Facebook as a means to bully students in their schools can be suspended or in some cases expelled. The Education Act states in s. 306 (1)(6) that a principal must consider suspending you if you bully someone. S. 310(1)(6) of the Education Act goes on to state that a principal must consider expelling you:
a)  if your bullying is motivated by bias (i.e. race, ethnicity, nationality, sexuality, disability or more) OR
b) previously have been suspended for bullying and create an unsafe risk to the safety of another student. 

Posting hurtful comments on Facebook about other students at your school qualifies as an act that will impact the school climate regardless of whether you posted these comments off school property or out of school hours. It is easy for this information to come to the attention of the school administration; your posts can be printed by any of your friends or by the person who your comments may be directed too.  Any posts on Facebook that are threatening or point to a pattern of harassment or other criminal activity can be used as evidence in court for criminal charges or civil law suits. 

As these and many other stories show, it is important to know where your information is stored, for how long, and most importantly, who can access it. As a press release from Astoria police read, “When you post [...] on Facebook, you have to figure that it is not going to stay private long” (qtd. in Gorrow).

References

Ashe, Dru. “Teenage Girl Sent to Jail After Posting About Her DUI Charge on Facebook.” Complex Tech. 20 September 2012. Web. http://www.complex.com/tech/2012/09/girl-ends-up-in-jail-over-facebook-status-of-her-dui-charge. Accessed 17 January 2013

Facebook. “Data Use Policy: Some other things you need to know.” Facebook. 11 December 2012. Web.  https://www.facebook.com/about/privacy/other. Accessed 17 January 2013

Gorrow, Chelsea. “Facebook post lands Astoria man in jail.” The Daily Astorian. 4 January 2013. Web. http://www.dailyastorian.com/free/facebook-post-lands-astoria-man-in-jail/article_f7f0ddf6-55d6-11e2-b3d7-0019bb2963f4.html. Accessed 17 January 2013

This scenario was written by Naiara Toker, a volunteer on JFCY's PLE team. All legal content was reviewed by a JFCY lawyer. 

New video: Drugs at School - Expulsions and other legal issues

Check out our new YouTube video on legal issues that can arise when students are caught with drugs at school.  This can lead to charges under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, as well as a possible suspension and/or expulsion from school.

For more on the making of this video, check out this past blog post about our PLE Team volunteers.

Behind the Scenes with the PLE Team

The YouTube subcommittee of the PLE Team was busy this week filming a video on school expulsions.  The video examines some of the consequences of getting caught selling and buying drugs on school property.

Here is a look behind the scenes at our youth volunteers:

Thanks to everyone involved:

Arif (writer and director)
Bianca (law student writer)
Andrea (JFCY staff lawyer supervisor)
Terence (actor, camera, editing)
Lucas (actor, camera)
Johnny (actor)
Genevieve (actor)
Mindy (actor)
Cydney (actor)
Marie (pizza!)

Stay tuned in early January for the release of this video.

Selling drugs at school

Scenario

Alexa is 17 years old and she lives with her mother as well as her little brother who is 3 years old. Her mother has been struggling financially ever since her husband left her and her two kids. Alexa is stressed out about her current living situation; she has tried to find a job to help out her mother with bill payments.  Unfortunately, she has not been able to keep a job due to some issues she is having with depression and anxiety.

Alexa has turned to other means of making money. Alexa began hanging out with a new crowd of friends and these friends have had some negative influences on her. At their suggestion, Alexa started dealing and selling around her neighborhood, as well as at school. Her ‘new friends’ have convinced her that selling drugs is a quicker and easier way for her to make money for her family.

If Alexa is selling drugs at school, what kind of trouble could she get into with school?

The Law: School Suspensions and Expulsions

If Alexa is dealing and selling drugs at school, she will face a mandatory suspension. According to a provincial law called the Education Act, selling drugs at school is such an incident where Alexa’s principal shall suspend her. Suspension from school can be anywhere from one school day to 20 school days. During this time, Alexa will not be able to attend class or participate in any school-related activities, such as field trips or sports games. If her suspension is for five days or more, she must attend a suspended students program.  If suspension occurs, her principal will follow up with a written notice of suspension stating why she is being and for how long the suspension will last, information about the right to appeal and whether they are considering expulsion.

Importantly,her principal may also have to notify the police about Alexa’s behavior.

Expulsion is a possible and more serious repercussion of selling drugs at school. If Alexa is suspended for 20 days, then her principal must consider whether to seek an expulsion.  In doing this, he or she will conduct an investigation for expulsion following the mandatory suspension. Until investigation, Alexa will be suspended for 20 days and she will be referred to a suspended students program which she will have to attend during investigation. Following the investigation if the Principal is recommending an expulsion then an expulsion hearing will occur where a committee of school board trustees will make the final decision about whether or not to expel her. At the expulsion hearing, the committee will hear from both the principal and the student, as well as any witnesses that either the principal or the student call.  The principal will likely have a lawyer and the student also has the right to have a lawyer present at the hearing.

The school board is required to take into account any special circumstances Alexa may have when determining whether she should be expelled, such as her disciplinary history at school, her academic and attendance record and whether she has a disability that contributed to the misconduct.

Expulsion means that Alexa can not attend school or any school-related activities.

There are two types of expulsions: She may be expelled only from the school she was attending or she may be expelled from all schools in her school board district. If she is expelled from her school only then she will be placed at a different school.  If she is expelled from all schools in the board then she will be assigned to an expelled students program, which she must complete before returning to a different school.

This expulsion will be recorded in Alexa’s Ontario Student Record and other schools will have access to this information. Some consequences of an expulsion include falling behind in classes, not earning her expected credits, being viewed differently by her teachers and peers and not graduate on time with her classmates. 

For more information on school suspensions, see: http://jfcy.org/PDFs/Suspensionseptember2012.pdf

For more information on school expulsions, see:

http://jfcy.org/PDFs/ExpulsionSeptember2012.pdf

If you are a young person attending a publicly-funded school in Ontario and you are facing a suspension or expulsion, you can call JFCY at 416.920.1633 or 1.866.999.5329 to speak with a lawyer.

The scenario for this post was written by Deqa Abdi, a JFCY volunteer on the PLE Team.  The legal info was written by Lauren Grossman, a first-year law student at U of T who is volunteering at JFCY through her law school’s Pro Bono Students Canada program. All info was reviewed by a JFCY staff lawyer.

School Fights: What can the consequences be?

Josh, 15, and Dave, 16, have never gotten along. No one knows exactly when their animosity towards one another began, but in Grade 11, everything got out of control. It started a couple months ago when Josh started dating Dave’s ex-girlfriend, Sam. Dave and his friends at school would taunt and tease Josh in the hallways and in the locker rooms where teachers weren’t around. Then, Dave spread rumours around the school that Josh had been cheating on Sam in order to get them to break up. Josh had had enough at that point, but he did not want to go to any teachers because he thought it would would just lead to more taunting and teasing by Dave and his friends. So, he decided to fight Dave. He figured if he won that fight, Dave and the other students would leave him alone. Dave agreed to fight and it was decided that the next day, Friday, at 4pm in the school parking lot, they would settle their dispute physically.

Fights on campus can lead to serious consequences at school.

By the time of the fight, the entire school had heard about it and a huge crowd had gathered to watch. Josh and Dave were at the centre of the crowd. In a split second, Dave punched Josh right in the face, leaving Josh on the pavement, bleeding. Moments after, the crowd began to flee. Teachers at the school saw the group of students outside and came out to see what was going on. The sight of teachers scared all the spectators away. Josh’s nose was bleeding, but the bleeding stopped quickly and he wasn’t hurt too badly. Both boys live with their parents, who were called to pick them up.

Dave and Josh’s fight happened on school property.  What kind of consequences could the boys face at school?

Some of the most serious consequences that a student can face for behaviour at school are suspensions and expulsions.  If a student is suspended, that means he or she can’t come to school for the time period of the suspension, which can be up to 20 days.  A suspension is also recorded in a student’s Ontario Student Record, so that even if someone transfers schools, the new school may know what happened.  Expulsions prevent students from attending school for at least four weeks, and it may mean that they cannot go to their own schools again afterwards.  In both suspensions and expulsions, students can’t participate in school-related activities, like sports team practices or clubs.

School Suspensions

Because Dave punched Josh in the face and bullied him before the fight, the principal will consider suspending Dave.  If Josh made threats to Dave before the fight about seriously hurting him, the principal may consider suspending Josh, too.  This is a situation where is a suspension is possible, but not required.  The law requires principals to suspend students in certain situations that happen at school or school-related activities; for example, when you physically hurt another person so that the other person needs medical attention.  Situations for mandatory suspensions are set out in Ontario’s Education Act, and school boards can also set guidelines for when suspensions are required in their board’s Code of Conduct.  Mandatory suspensions also have the potential to lead to an expulsion, so they can be very serious.

Mitigating Circumstances

When deciding whether to suspend Dave, the principal will have to consider “mitigating circumstances.”  These are reasons that the school might not suspend Dave even though he punched Josh and teased him.  Mitigating circumstances include issues like whether Dave was able to control his behaviour, whether he understood what would probably happen because of his behaviour, and whether his being at school would pose a risk to Josh’s or anyone else’s safety.  Other things can be considered too, like whether Dave has a disability or if he has had any problems at school in the past. 


Fairness

The school must act fairly towards Dave.  They must accommodate any disabilities he has, they must tell him what they are suspending him for, and they must give him a chance to tell his side of the story.  Since Dave is 16 and lives with his parents, they must also contact his parents to tell them about the suspension.  They must inform Dave and his parents of the suspension in writing, explaining why he is suspended and for how long, and telling him which suspended students program he has been assigned to (if he is suspended for more than 5 days).  They must also provide information about the right to appeal his suspension and who to contact with his appeal notice.  Once the suspension is over, Dave can begin to attend school again.

Appealing a Suspension

If Dave is suspended, he might feel that his punishment is unfair.  In this case, his parents can appeal the suspension by notifying the supervisory officer (usually a Superintendent) named in his suspension notice of their intent to appeal.  They must do this within ten school days of the start of the suspension.  A suspension appeal must then be held within 15 days after the supervisory officer receives the written notice.

Appeal Hearing

At the suspension appeal, school board trustees will listen to evidence from both Dave and the principal.  Dave and his parents have rights at the hearing.  These include being represented by a lawyer, calling witnesses, presenting Dave’s side of the story, cross-examining witnesses (this means asking questions of the witnesses called by the principal), and explaining mitigating circumstances.  The trustees will then decide whether to uphold, change, or end the suspension.  If the suspension is ended, Dave can go back to school immediately.  Even if the suspension ended before the appeal was held, this is still an important decision because it will be removed from Dave’s record if the board ends it at the appeal.

Although nobody was hurt badly in Dave and Josh's fight, a more serious fight might have led to an expulsion, or to criminal charges.  For more information, see JFCY’s pamphlets:

JFCY guide to suspension

JFCY guide to expulsion

JFCY youth guide to court

 Scenario written by JFCY volunteer and PLE team member Cemone Morlese.  Legal info by JFCY.

In the news: the Child Advocacy Project

Check out this Toronto Star article on the Child Advocacy Project (CAP).  CAP, a program run by Pro Bono Law Ontario, matches volunteer lawyers with children and families experiencing legal issues at school. The free lawyers provide assistance with suspensions, expulsions, special education, etc.

JFCY is happy to work quite closely with CAP; we provide training on education law to the volunteer lawyers.

For more info on CAP, check out their website: http://www.childadvocacy.ca/

Education Law and the Youth Criminal Justice Act - JFCY staff write for Briefly Speaking

The most recent issue of Briefly Speaking features two articles by JFCY lawyers.  Check it out online!

Martha Mackinnon is the executive director of JFCY.  Her article, "The Legality of Education," discusses the legal structures that govern the education system in Ontario - key issues she addresses are the legal processes that relate to suspensions, expulsions, and special education.  (It's on page 22 in the paper edition!)

Staff lawyer Niamh Harraher has an article titled "Publication and Disclosure Under the Youth Criminal Justice Act."  The article talks about how the Youth Criminal Justice Act protects the privacy of young people who are involved in the criminal justice system, when exceptions happen so that privacy is no longer protected to the same extent, and how privacy can sometimes be diminished (though perhaps not intentionally) in certain situations.  (Page 38 in the paper edition.)

EXPULSIONS

Your school Code of Conduct and the Education Act tell what conduct (for example selling drugs, assault, or having a weapon) can result in an expulsion. Expulsions are recorded in your Ontario Student Record – if you change schools, they will know what happened.

Who decides? What can happen? The principal will suspend you while investigating and must make a report with recommendations. The school board makes the decision after a hearing. It can decide not to expel or to expel from one school or all its schools. If you are expelled from all it's schools, you cannot return to school until you have successfully completed a program for expelled students.
If you broke the rules, do they have to expel you? No, your principal has to consider many factors before deciding to ask for an expulsion hearing, such as whether you have a disability, your history at the school, and whether your staying at school would create a risk for others.
What if the expulsion is unfair? You (or your parents if you are under 18) can appeal to the Child and Family Services Review Board, but you must act quickly. You should get a lawyer as soon as possible. If you believe your expulsion is discriminatory, you can make an application to the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario.
JFCY: 416-920-1633 or 1-866-999-5629 / www.jfcy.org