High School Teacher Fights To Restore Reputation - Polidicks

[url]http://www.lohud.com/article/20130605/NEWS02/306050121/Gorton-High-School-teacher-fights-restore-reputation[/url] [quote=article] A Gorton High School teacher in Yonkers is fighting to regain his reputation after he was investigated — and ultimately cleared of criminal wrongdoing — on allegations that he inappropriately touched a female student. [/quote] We always have these discussions about how damaging it is to be accused and most of the time the accuser gets away scot free.

It's really disappointing that in today's society, people are so quick to make up their mind on a case whether their a judge or not. People with zero evidence of someone's wrong-doing will automatically say the accused is guilty [I]because of a feeling[/I] - and when that person is deemed innocent, they'll still be treated as though deemed guilty.

Cases like these always make me cringe. Particularly because I've seen first hand how capricious teenagers can be towards teachers, and never stopping to consider that they too, are people first and foremost, with careers and families. When I was in school there was a teacher who was routinely telling female students off for leaving their blouses unbuttoned and hiking their skirts up, a group of girls decided to "get back" (and I use those exact quoted words from memory) at him by making false accusations about his behavior to their parents and the principle. The teacher in question was dismissed/told to move on.

when i was in highschool we Had a girl in my maths class who would play shit music from her phone all lesson, throw things at people, make racist and homphobic comments constantly, was basicly a total dick. one day we had a substitute teacher in the class and he tried to get her to stop and she literally said, infront of everyone, "you better back off mate, or ill be sayin you touched me, you get it?". and was met with appluase when the guy just walked out.

[QUOTE=fulgrim;40923533]when i was in highschool we Had a girl in my maths class who would play shit music from her phone all lesson, throw things at people, make racist and homphobic comments constantly, was basicly a total dick. one day we had a substitute teacher in the class and he tried to get her to stop and she literally said, infront of everyone, "you better back off mate, or ill be sayin you touched me, you get it?". and was met with appluase when the guy just walked out.[/QUOTE] And the class [i]applauded[/i] her? Jezze.

[QUOTE=Quark:;40923063]It's really disappointing that in today's society, people are so quick to make up their mind on a case whether their a judge or not. People with zero evidence of someone's wrong-doing will automatically say the accused is guilty [I]because of a feeling[/I] - and when that person is deemed innocent, they'll still be treated as though deemed guilty.[/QUOTE] Well that's due to how the system works: both lawyers are trying to convince the judge of whether the defendant is guilty or not, regardless of the truth. Most of the time, because of this, a good lawyer can get someone guilty out of being sentenced, and vice-versa. So most of the time people can assume that someone wasn't charged or found innocent only because the defense was better at their job than the prosecution. Lawyers go to college pretty much to learn the laws in their specific kind of court and to practice turning condemning evidence into meaningless evidence, so they are very good at turning around a case if given some leeway.

I thought fighting was banned in schools :v: I read the title as if the teacher was phsically fighting the students to gain street rep.

at the highschool i spent most of my time at there weren't many [I]false[/I] accusations we have a gym teacher that i think is still in jail (sort of a fucked up situation though, she was 18 at the time i'm pretty sure) and another teacher that moved away and married i think as soon as his dream girl was legal

The accuser gets away scots free simply because people think it would be victim blaming, even if the victim isn't a victim. It is the same with false rape accusations, lawmakers fear that if they prosecute these false victims, real victims might not go to the police and report these incidents.

[QUOTE=Drewsko;40923571]And the class [i]applauded[/i] her? Jezze.[/QUOTE] not the whole class, but most of it. i went to an incredibly shitty school

[QUOTE=willer;40924204]Well that's due to how the system works: both lawyers are trying to convince the judge of whether the defendant is guilty or not, regardless of the truth. Most of the time, because of this, a good lawyer can get someone guilty out of being sentenced, and vice-versa. So most of the time people can assume that someone wasn't charged or found innocent only because the defense was better at their job than the prosecution. Lawyers go to college pretty much to learn the laws in their specific kind of court and to practice turning condemning evidence into meaningless evidence, so they are very good at turning around a case if given some leeway.[/QUOTE] I wasn't referring to lawyers. I was referring to the average civilian. People who followed the OJ Simpson case took sides instantly without any evidence. It was either, [I]"He's a dirty murderer, death sentence!"[/I] or [I]"OJ wouldn't do that, innocent!"[/I] It's wrong to use that conviction-attitude against someone for the intent of harassment.

[QUOTE=willer;40924204]Well that's due to how the system works: both lawyers are trying to convince the judge of whether the defendant is guilty or not, regardless of the truth. Most of the time, because of this, a good lawyer can get someone guilty out of being sentenced, and vice-versa. So most of the time people can assume that someone wasn't charged or found innocent only because the defense was better at their job than the prosecution. Lawyers go to college pretty much to learn the laws in their specific kind of court and to practice turning condemning evidence into meaningless evidence, so they are very good at turning around a case if given some leeway.[/QUOTE] You are leaving out one major component- a person is innocent UNTIL proven guilty. So all the people who think the defense lawyer cleverly twisted the law blah blah blah...they have it all wrong. They are starting with the idea that the defendant is guilty until he proves he's innocent, and if he needs 'a good lawyer' to be found not guilty it means he did it and got away with it. In this case, there isn't enough evidence to even prosecute the teacher. So anyone who considers him guilty of it is just pulling that opinion out of their ass. Personally I believe the reason people think this way because with a lot of people their need to see someone punished overwhelms their critical thinking skills. That doesn't even bring in other considerations. Sometimes juries use the verdict to send a message, jury nullification is what it's called, and it has nothing to do with whether that defendant is guilty or not.

[QUOTE=cecilbdemodded;40928627]You are leaving out one major component- a person is innocent UNTIL proven guilty. So all the people who think the defense lawyer cleverly twisted the law blah blah blah...they have it all wrong. They are starting with the idea that the defendant is guilty until he proves he's innocent, and if he needs 'a good lawyer' to be found not guilty it means he did it and got away with it. In this case, there isn't enough evidence to even prosecute the teacher. So anyone who considers him guilty of it is just pulling that opinion out of their ass. Personally I believe the reason people think this way because with a lot of people their need to see someone punished overwhelms their critical thinking skills. That doesn't even bring in other considerations. Sometimes juries use the verdict to send a message, jury nullification is what it's called, and it has nothing to do with whether that defendant is guilty or not.[/QUOTE] You're stating how the system SHOULD work - innocent UNTIL proven guilty. He's stating how it actually happens: people assume guilt until proven innocent .... and even then sometimes they just think you're guilty anyway. and then of course we have the whole issue of wrongful convictions of which there is a LOT of. Its far from perfect of course.

Wow, as a teacher this happened a few times. But instead an investigation is done quietly. We have had a few teachers who have done some really bad things and get charged when their evidence came to light but even when community members say they have proof of something unless our school officials/school board members have their hands on it is anything done. I do teach in a small town though, without a main media source which would add a whole new can of worms if we did. However, this [QUOTE]“I’ll still teach. I’ll teach effectively,” he said. “But there’s a part of me that won’t be there anymore.”[/QUOTE] really cut deep. Kids really don't understand some of the shit they pull and it causes a lot of teachers to have to be that way.

i think there should be a fairly hefty fine for false accusations of rape/sexual harassment, maybe even jail time. girls when they become 14 start using it as a threat against boys because they can't defend themselves against it, even if they can nobody ever looks at them the same again. these people ruin lives. i know a guy who had a girl try to extort money from him by threatening to charge him with rape. he was a poor guy and didn't have the ludicrous amount (she asked for $500) she tried to get from him. she told the faculty and it went to court. i still don't know how he managed to shake off the charges, but nobody looks at him the same anymore. he's had to move to a different school because of it. this shit really sucks man.

Reading all the downright awful things in this thread just pisses me off so much. I'm so glad most of the people at my schools were never that bad.

It's kind of scary to think about how much power people have. You can just destroy somebody's life by making up a simple lie, and you will never get punished. I think that wasting court time and money should be a fine-able offense.