Not That It Persuades the Paranoid,

but one parent writes regarding that silly lawsuit against Lower Merion (PA) School District over a "spycam" and the resultant media hype might both be a rush to judgment:

In the case as it is described in the complaint, we are presented with vague allegations leaving much to inference. Nowhere does it state basic facts like who took the alleged photo, what it showed or where the school district saw it, or whether the feature was activated because the computer was reported lost or whether there was a deliberate attempt to spy on a student in legal possession of a computer. Rather it omits these vital facts with bearing on the merits of the case, and jumps to inferring cyber spying with a view toward pedophilia.

In the larger context, we have a student whose school record and whose previous use (or abuse, if such there was), of the loaner laptops, are not part of the discussion, even if such information has a bearing on the veracity of the statements made by him and his parents and may even significantly undercut the entire basis of the allegations. Even more baffling is the fact that there is now a Federal gag order on the school district which prevents any administrator from speaking about any aspect of this case, or laptops, without prior consultation with the lawyer for the plaintiffs. According to that lawyer, Mark S. Hartzman, quoted in the Philadelphia Inquirer (February 23rd, 2010), says he "wanted to make sure the district didn't spread falsehoods about his client, 15-year-old Blake Robbins." He also mentioned that he wanted "a fair opportunity to talk to our clients," meaning other students and parents who might have been affected by the laptop-security program." And yet, no other district parent or student is named in the complaint, and neither parents nor students have rallied en masse behind this suit, quite the contrary; in a matter of hours, nearly 500 rallied, publicly, behind the school district. Besides, is it fair, for anybody anywhere, including this family or their lawyer, to be free to spread any rumor they liked about this school district from neighborhood conversations to national TV? Even though some of the most hard-hitting statements made in the case are contradicted by what is now common knowledge?

From where I sit the lawsuit is a load of shit. I suspect the family wants the money to pay off enormous debts:

Haltzman's federal suit makes clear that the family is not necessarily expecting a large payout. "Since the damage suffered by individual class members may be relatively small," the expense of individual litigation might not be affordable without a class action, it says.

Certainly not for the Robbinses.

According to court records, their unpaid debts range from $62,692 owed to the IRS to lesser debts of a few thousand to their dentist, their former synagogue's preschool, and a Montgomery County lawyer.

The Peco bill still stood at more than $29,000 a few weeks ago. But after reaching a new agreement with the utility, the family paid off half of it last week, Wood said.

Haltzman has not made the Robbins family available for extensive interviews, saying the family members' personal life is irrelevant. In a statement issued by the family yesterday, the Robbinses said their lawsuit "is not about . . . us."

It's entirely relevant.