Louisiana court rejects lawsuit by student expelled for sex violation
St. Tammany Parish school officials were not "arbitrary or capricious" in their decision to expel a Mandeville High School student after his arrest on a rape charge, a state district judge ruled. The student, 18-year-old Mark Ernst Jr., was arrested Jan. 11 after a 15-year-old classmate told police that he raped her at the school in September. Ernst originally was charged with simple rape, but the charge was amended to misdemeanor carnal knowledge of a juvenile by the district attorney's office. Claiming that his due process was violated before his Jan. 14 expulsion, Ernst had asked Judge Donald M. Fendlason to order the School Board to reverse its expulsion decision and remove all references of the order from his student file. “The School Board relied totally on what the police said, what was in the news, and the fact that this young man was arrested,” attorney John Lindner argued in court. “There's absolutely no evidence that he actually committed (rape),” said Lindner, who noted that the carnal knowledge charge refers to consensual sex. School Board attorney Harry Pastuszek, Jr. said that the board was not required to conduct its own criminal investigation before recommending expulsion. Pastuszek said that Ernst's repeated refusal to provide school officials with his version of the incident left them to consider only the rape allegation and the finding of DNA evidence, which indicated that sex had occurred. “The School Board has no choice,” he said.
During the court proceeding, Principal Bruce Bundy said he recommended expulsion on Jan. 14 because the rape allegation and DNA evidence indicated that a "sex violation"—meriting expulsion under School Board policy—had taken place. Bundy said that he made his recommendation after Ernst declined an invitation to provide his version of the encounter, and that he did not interview the alleged victim. Senior Supervisor Kevin Marse said he affirmed Bundy's recommendation during a Jan. 17 expulsion hearing without reviewing a police report or speaking with either the alleged victim or Ernst, whom Lindner had advised not to discuss the incident. Marse said he made his recommendation based on the rape allegation “and no other evidence to refute that charge.” He testified that the School Board did not give Ernst the opportunity to speak until after his arrest because it had been instructed not to interfere with the investigation being conducted by Mandeville police. “My responsibility is to review the facts to the best of my ability,” Marse said. “I do not reinvestigate every case that is brought before me.” Darlene Ernst, the accused student's mother, said that Bundy notified her that Ernst would be formally suspended on the Monday following his arrest, and that the School Board would mail Ernst the suspension paperwork if he decided not to receive it at school. The family was not informed that Ernst also would be invited to respond to the rape charge as part of the expulsion proceedings, she said. In his decision, Judge Fendlason said that whether the sex was consensual or forcible “is not relevant to the issue in this case.” The issue, he said, is whether the actions of the School Board were “arbitrary and capricious.” “In light of testimony and the evidence that I have heard, I cannot say that this is the case,” Fendlason said. Lindner has said that Ernst's family is considering appealing the court's decision in an effort to clear his academic record. “My personal belief is that the School Board has more of a responsibility to investigate allegations such as these,” he said.
Source: New Orleans Times-Picayune, 4/10/08, By Kia Hall Hayes