Tough Noogies, Ethan!

Ethan Mirenberg was suspended from school. He "forcibly pressed his knuckles against [the] scalp" of his former teacher Sharon Cantante, "grinding them into her scalp and causing her pain." She asked Ethan to cease and desist. Ethan did it again. This was not just a casual social meeting. Ethan entered his former school without permission, walked into Ms. Cantante's classroom while class was in session, and gave her the noogies.

At his due process hearing, the hearing officer recommended a 2-year suspension. The school district superintendent cut down the suspension to 9 months (i.e., the remainder of the 2007 - 2008 academic year.

If the suspension seems a bit harsh, it must be remembered that Ethan Mirenberg had a significant prior disciplinary record.

In any event, Ethan and his parents appealed the suspension. The judge threw out the case, on the grounds that Ethan had not exhausted his administrative remedies.

Now understand that Ethan is enrolled in another school district (for which his parents, in all likelihood, are paying the going non-resident tuition rate).

But Ethan's former lawyer is quoted as saying "What was done to this kid was unfair."

Unfair? If Ethan would have ceased and desisted and left the building the first time Ms. Cantante had politely requested him to cease and desist, then it would all be done! Over with! Closed! Fertig! Finito!

Actually, what was done with this kid WAS unfair -- to the students and teachers in the new school he is now attending.

And, quite curiously, there seems to be no civil tort case filed by Ms. Sharon Cantante against Ethan or his parents -- yet.

Updates & Chag Sameach

Once again, a dearth of posts has resulted from me going through a busy period, exacerbated by the Passover preparations for the upcoming Pesach holiday (redundancy intentional; this posting can now be hit by a search of either term). A few updates are in order.


(A) Big Dipper update: During the past month since the Big Dipper Update # 8, the issue has only spread and intensified. NY AG Andrew Cuomo, who is certainly not oblivious to the prospects of making political hay, has issued two press releases during the past week [here and here] announcing various expansions of his probe into the matter. Expect to see some criminal indictments, and maybe, just maybe, some dollars returned to the New York State public treasury.

(B) The Wisniewski case posting from 9 July 2007 (the one where the kid's parents sued the school for expelling him for making death threats to a teacher): The U.S. Supreme Court has denied certiorari, which means that the suspension stands, and the kid (who is now an adult) does not get exonerated for the death threats. Aaron Wisniewski's only hope is for him to accept accountability for his actions. But with facilitative parents who do everything to externalize the blame which rightly rests upon his shoulders, he really doesn't have too much of a chance.


(C) The Passport Snooping post of 23 March 2008: As mentioned, State Department employees get away with doing things that IRS employees can't even daydream about doing. Along such lines, the removal of an IRS employee Shirley C. Albritton for snooping, which was upheld by the Merit System Protection Board, was affirmed by the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals.



The hour draws late, and the holiday will soon be upon us, thus giving me and my wife approximately 2 days to finish our preparations. As usual, I look forward to it, but, as usual, it will take a lot out of me.

Wishing everyone a happy & kosher Passover!

More Miscellaneous Briefs

A. Ex-Judge David Gross Pleads Guilty


Well, another black-robed bench bum is headed to the Big House. The Dishonorable David Gross, formerly a judge in the Nassau County, New York, District Court, has pleaded guilty to a money laundering conspiracy charge. The US Attorney's office is gunning at a sentence in the 37 to 46 month range (though he theoretically faces up to 20 years).

Gross's behavior on and off the bench was questionable, ranging spraying with a water hose the police detective who came to investigate a complaint that Gross was showering nude in his back yard with his children present, to keeping the jury deliberating on September 11, 2001 after the Muslim terror attacks.

The Newsday story on him carried a quote from one of Gross's former colleagues:

"I wouldn't characterize him as the top legal mind, but he worked hard at what he did," said Michael DerGarabedian, a Rockville Centre attorney who worked closely with Gross for years. "I would characterize him as a person who talked too much, and probably talked himself into something that he shouldn't be involved in. That's just the way he was. ... He never shut up."


Okay, so Gross isn't the brightest bulb in the chandelier. Maybe this is just as well. Imagine how much damage he might have done if he were brilliant!




B. High School Terrorists:

The previous posting on the Second Circuit's affirmance of the Wisniewski decision came not a day too soon. Now, some arrests have been made in what is alleged to be a Columbine copycat conspiracy at Connetquot High School on Long Island. It is now a criminal matter, but even more importantly, the Connetquot school administrators now have rock-solid legal footing to keep the alleged terrorists away from the school.



C. R.I.P., Officer Timoshenko:

NYPD Officer Russel Timoshenko has succumbed to his wounds received when he was arresting some car thief thugs. The charges against the three suspects, now in custody after a wide manhunt, will certainly be upgraded to include murder.

The two fugitive suspects were apprehended in Pennsylvania, and brought back to New York. Dexter Bostic, the alleged triggerman on Officer Timoshenko, was restrained by Timoshenko's own handcuffs, and Robert Ellis, who allegedly shot Timoshenko's partner, Officer Herman Yan, was restrained by Yan's handcuffs. Officer Yan's bulletproof vest saved his life, and I am grateful to report that he is out of the hospital and recovering. The alleged driver, Lee Woods, was captured very shortly after the shooting. He would be the logical guy with whom to work for a plea bargain in exchange for testimony.

Predicting the future is a very tricky business, but you would do well to put your money down on the following:

1. Bostic and Ellis will spend the remainder of their lives behind bars.

2. Woods might or might not eventually taste freedom again, but he will be out of circulation for quite some time.

3. I will be following the developments in what promise to be very long and protracted legal proceedings against the suspects.

4. Officer Timoshenko's NYPD colleagues will be following those legal proceedings even more diligently and exactingly than I will.


Officer Timoshenko may be gone, but it seems that his handcuffs are still doing their duty. Rest in Peace!