You gotta' play it safe around elect-ri-ci-teee!

An 18-year-old Massachusetts high school senior who injured himself by--wait for it--accepting a dare from a shop-class buddy to attach electrical leads to his nipples, is now suing the school district for negligence. The suit claims, among other things, that the shop teacher, a certified teacher and master electrician, failed to warn students of the dangers posed by electricity. [Left: Cell phone photo of the incident.]

Ridiculous as it sounds so far, there is apparently a bit more to the story, at least according to the court papers: there was some indication by other students that the teacher was himself involved in the dare, offering the boy a Mountain Dew. The student claimed that it was not the teacher, but a classmate who made the dare and offered the soda. There were also allegations that the teacher had previously told students that the electrical circuits used in the class were unable to cause harmful or fatal shocks.

Not saying that the teacher did it, but I can completely imagine a teacher telling an 18-year-old, "go ahead, moron, attach the alligator clips to your nipples and see what happens; I'll buy you a Coke if you survive." Unfortunately, I can also completely imagine the 18-year-old calling the teacher's bluff.

The teacher has resigned. Odds are the District will settle.

The moral of the story:

(1) Louie the Lightening Bug was right.

(2) School administrators: some kids are dumb, and some parents are litigious. Be prepared.

(3) I say this as a former high-school teacher: teachers probably need to be a bit more cognizant that it's all too easy for students or parents to turn a teacher's stray words, or harmless jokes, into fodder for a lawsuit.

Boston Herald story here.

If your school has a policy like this one, please, oh, please give me a call

In what appears to be a hilariously misguided attempt at affirmative action, a Mississippi middle school had what I gather was a longstanding policy of requiring that class presidents be white, and class vice-presidents, or other class officers, be black. The mother of an Italian-Native American student took issue with the policy, wondering whether her child qualified for either post. Gawker has the story. School administrators, here's a bit of free legal advice: don't do this. (HT: ATL)

No-Fault Divorce in New York

Earlier this month, the Governor signed a bill providing for "no fault" divorce in New York. The new law goes into effect October 12, 2010 and applies to actions for divorce commenced on or after that date.

What does all this mean? Currently, New York law permits divorce where the spouse suing for divorce pleads specific grounds, which are limited to: "cruel and inhuman treatment", abandonment for one year or more, imprisonment for three years or more, or adultery; or where the couple have a valid separation agreement or decree and have lived apart for one year or longer.

The new law, which amends section 170 (among others) of the Domestic Relations Law, allows divorce where one spouse pleads that, "The relationship between husband and wife has broken down irretrievably for a period of at least six months." Or, in other words, so long as one spouse wants the divorce, he or she can get it without having to give any specific reason.

That said, the law requires all financial issues, including distribution of property, spousal and child support, and attorney's fees and costs, as well as child custody and visitation, to be worked out before the court will make the divorce final.

Federal Judge Upholds Prayer a Greece Town Board Meeting

I'm a little late to the party on this one, but it's a case I've been following for a couple of years, and which I blogged about in my previous blog, The Respondent. 

U.S. District Court Judge Charles Siragusa recently granted summary judgment to the Town of Greece in Galloway v Town of Greece, 2010 WL 3075727 (W.D.N.Y.), a lawsuit brought by two individuals who claimed that the Greece Town Board's practice of opening its meetings with prayer led by local clergy violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. (Decision here. D&C story here.)

The plaintiffs, Susan Galloway and Linda Stephens, represented by Americans United For Separation of Church and State, made two main arguments: First, that the Town intentionally excluded non-Christians from offering prayers at meetings, thereby aligning itself with Christianity; and second, that the town impermissibly allowed "sectarian" prayer by members of both Christian and non-Christian faiths.

As to the selection of ministers, employees of the Town's Office of Constituent Services testified that they randomly invited ministers from numerous congregations in the town without any regard to the particular religion. The Town employees kept a  list of congregations and regularly updated the list from listings of religious groups in a Community Guide published by the Chamber of Commerce, and the Greece Post newspaper.  The only purportedly non-Christian group listed in the Community Guide was a Mormon church, which declined the Town's invitation. The only non-Christian group listed in the Post was a Bahai congregation, whose minister was invited, and did, in fact, offer the invocation at a Town Board meeting.

As to the "sectarian" nature of the prayers,  the Court found that the prayers did not proselytize or advance any one, or disparage any other, faith or belief.  The Court noted that the mere fact that prayers may contain a reference to Jesus or another deity does not make them proselytizing. Instead, limited references such as, "in Jesus's name," are tolerable acknowledgments of beliefs widely held among the people of this country.