How do I take my child&#39;s school district to court (NY)? I received an emailed letter from the superintendent of my child's school district, notifying me that I am prohibited from entering my child's school without a prior appointment. Failure to comply with the prohibition will be considered trespassing. I suspect the decision is retaliation for my special education advocacy. The decision was based on my supposedly having gone to a teacher's classroom before school, without signing in, to talk with the teacher. In fact, I signed in, and went to the teacher's room to ask him to contact me at his earliest convenience. But there had already been a warning letter a few weeks ago (because I signed in and went to the nurse's office to ask the nurse to notify me in future when my child makes a non-routine visit to the school Health Office, e.g. after a sprain in P.E.). In neither case was I threatening or disruptive. (However, that doesn't prevent these people from claiming that they felt intimidated, and once they start talking about feeling intimidated, then they start talking about feeling threatened, as though those were exact synonyms.) I can file a "310" appeal to the state Commissioner of Education; however, this is slow. There is a backlog. Note there is a 30 day statute of limitations and the burden of proof would be on me to show that the superintendent acted arbitrarily and capriciously. Here's the FAQ. There is a page about stays. I am aware that I can file a complaint with the Dept of Ed Office for Civil Rights (OCR), but they have an even worse backlog and this option would be even slower. The FAQ say one can go to court instead. I would like to consider the option of going to court instead, but I don't know where to start. What would be the jurisdiction? What would my court action be called (some sort of "suit" perhaps)? Where do I find instructions? Would court be quicker than 310? How does the degree of difficulty of proving one's case compare? What about affidavits and witnesses -- how does that compare? What would a court case cost? (310 is free, I believe.) If you only have a partial answer, that's okay, any info you can share would be appreciated. In both cases I would proceed without a lawyer.
This would be virtually impossible to do from scratch. If you had the guidance of someone who successfully pursued a similar legal action it might be possible. In theory you should be able to pursue grievances in court by becoming well versed in the applicable laws and rules, having impeccable attention to detail, exceptional deductive and writing skills, and getting lucky enough to run your filings through patient clerks who will tell you every time you're missing something or doing something wrong. New York Courts even offer this encouraging CourtHelp website for pro se guidance on common actions. But if you really want to attempt a pro se civil action, especially against a government entity, or other entity with essentially unlimited legal funds, you not only need all of the above but also some sort of assistance from somebody who knows the system. I would spend as much time looking for sympathetic advocacy groups and lawyers offering pro bono service as I would reading relevant law and procedure. (One more thing: The word "quick" is never used in conjunction with formal legal actions, except in jest ;)
RCW 9.41.280 prohibits firearms and &quot;dangerous weapons&quot;, which does not extend to a tiny knife. Seattle Public Schools does not add anything relevant above state law, nor does Renton, nor Bellevue. Bellevue just says &quot;knives&quot; which is broader than state law, but they refer the question to state law, and such a &quot;knife&quot; would not be a dangerous weapon under state law. Seattle Prep doesn't say explicitly and doesn't refer the question to state law. There are hundreds of schools, so you'd have to check the specific school. Incidentally, if you concludes based on reading the school's policy that it is not prohibited, they may still punish you (confiscating the knife is more likely), and you may have to sue them to abide by their published policy. Their defense could simply be &quot;we consider all knives to be dangerous weapons&quot;.
this is wrong to bring this around my girls. Is there anything I can do? If my understanding is correct, your primary concern is the harassment your daughters might endure as a result of the publication(s). In that case, you might want to send the publisher a cease and desist letter where you ask the removal of sensitive information about your daughters. If the publisher does not comply within reasonable time, consider pursuing injunctive relief in court. Labels, remedies, and procedural details depend on the laws of the [unspecified] jurisdiction where this is happening. Other than that, the number of gaps and confusing details in your description render your question unanswerable. For instance, your description indicates that the &quot;neighbor's daughter&quot; is the person who learned about the charges, retrieved your full name and address, and so forth. A kid playing with children of age 7, 5, 2 is unlikely to engage in that elaborate conduct, unless the kid is at least few years older. It is also unclear what happened when the other person came to your house &quot;because of this post&quot;. There are no details whatsoever, whence one is unable to grasp the extent to which that person's opinion of you and/or your daughters was influenced by the publication. The person's intent might have been to hear your side of the story, to make a proposal, to reproach, etc. There is no way to discern the substance or relevance of that event.
The first passage quoted appears to be from the North Carolina General Statutes section 14-269.2 (Weapons on campus or other educational property) The roughly corresponding section of South Carolina law is SECTION 23-31-215 (Issuance of permits.) subsection (M) (5). It is quite different in both wording and content. I do not find the second quoted passage in an online search, and I presume it is of the school's own writing. If you were in elementary school &quot;about 10 years ago&quot; it would seem that you are probably in high school or college now. Rules for those institutions are often quite different from elementary school and from each other. I have no way to evaluate what the school regulations on such subjects might be, but it is probably safer to leave your empty casing at home, although no rule you have quoted or that I can find online would prohibit it. An expended cartridge or casing is not a &quot;gun, rifle, pistol, or other firearm of any kind&quot; and so this provision of NC 14-269.2 would not apply, even in North Carolina. An expended cartridge is not likely to be defined as a &quot;weapon&quot; either, and so the second quotes passage should not apply, although it is possible that the school regulations define &quot;weapon&quot; differently so that an expended cartridge is included. I have no way to know what other provisions the school regulations might include that would be relevant.
Finding Certainty There is only one way for certain: Do the supposedly unlawful thing Get sued (civil) or prosecuted (criminal) Go to court - if you win it wan't illegal If you lose, appeal to the next appellate court in the chain In one of those courts refuses to hear your appeal - it was illegal Repeat as necessary until you reach the Supreme Court - if you win it wan't illegal If you lose or the Supreme Court refuses to hear your appeal - it was illegal. Of course, this whole cycle will take a few years and quite a lot of money. Not certain but persuasive Consult a lawyer: their area of expertise is knowing what the law is and how it will likely apply to your circumstances. Of course, they can be wrong about this because - see above. Why is this so hard? Common law jurisdictions, of which Florida is an example, do not have a "Code of Laws" where you can look things up and see if they are legal or illegal. The Common Law in Florida is partially enacted law (by the US, Florida, County, City and finally your housing corporation) and partially unenacted law (decisions made by courts about both the enacted and unenacted law). In fact, enacted law is usually quite ambiguous until it has a body of unenacted (or case) law that surrounds it and provides guidance on how the courts will interpret it. Part of a lawyers skill is knowing (within their area of expertise) what the relevant case and statute law is with respect to the specific facts of the case, or knowing how to research them. Publish and be damned! You can always take the Duke of Wellingtons approach. In common law jurisdictions, everything is legal unless there is a law (enacted or unenacted) that makes it otherwise. If you do not believe that the action you wish to take is illegal then advise the other party that you will give them 24 hours to come back with a court injunction to prohibit it, otherwise you will proceed. You can't call a bluff harder than this!
General Resource: the U.S. Department of Education puts out a nice compendium of the various state laws. Below are my jurisdictions. Illinois: (105 ILCS 5/10-22.6) In brief, school administrators may be delegated the authority to suspend students for gross disobedience or misconduct without consulting the board or the parents. In this case they must notify parents of the suspension, forward a full statement of reasons for the suspension, and notify the parents of their right to have it reviewed by the board. Expulsions, on the other hand, require a hearing at the board. Much of the due process for suspensions came frome Goss v. Lopez, 419 U.S. 565 (1975). Of interest, language changes took effect in 2011 authorizing suspension for gross disobedience or misconduct using electronic means. North Carolina: (NCGS 115C) In particular, Article 27 deals with discipline. The law distinguishes between short-term, long-term, and 365-day suspensions (...the latter is for firearm possession). This is a fairly good summary of NC School Discipline Laws and Regulations (prepared by ed.gov), while this is a good summary of the governing case law.
Someone is yanking your chain. The law regarding birth certificates §31-10-9 states that "A certificate of birth for each live birth which occurs in this state shall be filed with the State Office of Vital Records within five days after such birth and filed in accordance with this Code section and regulations of the department" ("shall" means it is mandatory). The law regarding issuing certified copies of vital records, §31-10-26, says that (a) In accordance with Code Section 31-10-25 and the regulations adopted pursuant thereto: (1) The state registrar or local custodian, upon receipt of a written application, shall issue: (A) A certified copy of a vital record in that registrar's or custodian's custody or abstract thereof to any applicant having a direct and tangible interest in the vital record (a parent has an obvious direct and tangible interest in their child's birth certificate). There is no legal basis for denying a person the right to obtain a birth certificate, and a law prohibiting issuance of a birth certificate to a person who owed money to a hospital would be contrary to the Equal Protection clause of the Constitution. However, the hospital is not obligated to give copies of birth certificates, and probably cannot issue a certified copy ("(d) No person shall prepare or issue any certificate which purports to be an original, certified copy or duplicate of a vital record except as authorized in this chapter or regulations adopted under this chapter"). USCIS states that "The only birth certificate acceptable for Form I-9 purposes must be an original or certified copy of a birth certificate issued by a state, county, municipal authority or outlying possession of the United States, bearing an official seal (hospitals register births, on which basis government registrars certify births). Your home country obviously cannot issue a birth certificate: only Georgia can (and must).
I've contested many of my own traffic tickets in a state where traffic tickets are also considered misdemeanor criminal violations. I would appear in court before the time limit on your ticket. I'd plead not guilty, and I would not waive any rights- which means I would request a trial by jury. Under Georgia law you do have the right to a jury trial IF your ticket is not considered a petty offense. Otherwise you can have a bench trial. If your case starts in a Municipal Court and you request a jury trial, the case will be sent to the State or Superior Court of that county. Jury trials on traffic citations are rare, but it is probably a good tactic because you might be able to work out a better solution than you can in Municipal court. Once the court accepts your plea, then I would make sure the court set a pre-trial hearing. At this hearing make a motion to the judge that you would like the dash-cam video of the officer and the vehicle he stopped you in. If the prosecutor argues that it's not relevant (and they might) explain to the judge why they are relevant (the officer didn't realize exactly what intersection you were at). IMPORTANT: Introduction of your own evidence requires that you 'lay the foundation' of the evidence. This usually means that you must declare officially in court, in front of the prosecution, that your evidence (pictures you take, etc.) are taken by you, and that they are 'true and correct' representations of the location where the alleged offense took place, and that the date and time was (whatever it was). You usually must state this while under oath. OTHERWISE, the prosecution will object to your evidence most likely on the grounds of no foundation. Please read up on how to lay the foundation in either a trial or in a pre-trial setting. For something like this you might need to just present the evidence and lay your foundation at trial. So you'll need to read up on how to lay foundation and present your evidence at trial. You could get lucky and the officer won't show up at trial. So in that case I would make a motion to dismiss for lack of prosecution (you can't cross examine a witness that didn't show up) You'll get to choose jurors, etc. in a process called Voire Dire. So read up on that too. You will not be forced to testify if you don't want to (because of the constitutional right to not incriminate yourself) but if you do choose to testify, the prosecution can ask you questions).