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Wednesday, April 23, 2025

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A menacing question

LAKE CHARLES, La. — An appeals court in Louisiana upheld a trial court’s decision to designate a police officer’s son as a delinquent juvenile for asking classmates at his junior high school: “What happens if a school shooting happened at 1:15 tomorrow?” Because his intentional statement resulted in “sustained fear” at the school, and because his First Amendment defense is being brought for the first time on appeal and is therefore not properly before the court for review, he was rightfully adjudicated for the crime of “menacing.”

Read the ruling here.

Categories / Appeals, Briefs, Criminal, Education, First Amendment

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