Court overturns father's grounding of 12-year-old

Woodmonkey · 06-21-2008, 14:29

A Canadian court has lifted a 12-year-old girl's grounding, overturning her father's punishment for disobeying his orders to stay off the Internet, his lawyer said Wednesday.

The girl had taken her father to Quebec Superior Court after he refused to allow her to go on a school trip for chatting on websites he tried to block, and then posting "inappropriate" pictures of herself online using a friend's computer.

The father's lawyer Kim Beaudoin said the disciplinary measures were for the girl's "own protection" and is appealing the ruling.

"She's a child," Beaudoin told AFP. "At her age, children test their limits and it's up to their parents to set boundaries."

"I started an appeal of the decision today to reestablish parental authority, and to ensure that this case doesn't set a precedent," she said. Otherwise, said Beaudoin, "parents are going to be walking on egg shells from now on."

"I think most children respect their parents and would never go so far as to take them to court, but it's clear that some would and we have to ask ourselves how far this will go."

According to court documents, the girl's Internet transgression was just the latest in a string of broken house rules. Even so, Justice Suzanne Tessier found her punishment too severe.

Beaudoin noted the girl used a court-appointed lawyer in her parents' 10-year custody dispute to launch her landmark case against dear old dad.

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leobold1 · 06-21-2008, 16:15

Is this serious? A kid went to court because she got GROUNDED?

I'm not sure which is worse, the fact that she took it to court, or the fact that she won.

Woodmonkey · 06-21-2008, 16:19

As far as I'm concerned, it's the fact that the court actually accepted the case to begin with.

BrianK · 06-21-2008, 17:28

Seems to me the court that decided in favor of the 12 yr. old should be held accountable for any future problems this girl has. There should be zero expense to the parents for any problems.

Sally Brown · 06-21-2008, 17:38

A very sad day for Canada's parents. Without discipline and structure, a society falls into anarchy. Anarchy is not the presence of total freedom, but rather a decline in it that end results in its total absence. Have too many ex-patriated Vietnam War draft dodgers take out citizenship once they left "home" for the great north? Just could be. How very sad that no one can stay home anywhere and raise the children.

Woodmonkey · 06-21-2008, 20:10

Quote:

Originally Posted by BrianK

Seems to me the court that decided in favor of the 12 yr. old should be held accountable for any future problems this girl has. There should be zero expense to the parents for any problems.

That's for sure. She's now the court's child. He certainly has no authority now.

Chrisj · 06-22-2008, 05:28

It appears the lunatics have taken over the asylum not just in the UK and US but in Canada as well. It just proves that as a breed judges are completely removed from reality regardless of their nationality.