The ACLU is behaving disgracefully in its handling of Luke Herbert, the gay Florida teen harassed by one of his teachers, tortured by students and denied justice.
Luke is in a quandary. He was so long victimized in an atmosphere of harsh and irrational hatred of gay people that it must have seemed like a miracle when a smidgen of assistance arrived.
The ACLU has agreed to a feeble, empty resolution of its negotiations with Flagler County Schools. Had there been any actual legal case involved, a client might be talking with another attorney about bringing a legal malpractice case against the ACLU. The ACLU certainly did not get involved in Luke’s case, solely to use him as a poster boy to attract donations afterwards. However, it is able to use Luke’s case to attract donations for itself, while Luke will remain entirely uncompensated. With so unsatisfactory an outcome to the negotiations, further investigations into all aspects of relations between the parties is merited. That no legal action was initiated is very curious. Luke is a victim of extremely serious crimes. His future . . . (his emotional well-being, his education, his college-readiness, his economic prospects) . . has been placed in jeopardy by these crimes. Yet the ACLU is complicit in allowing Flagler County Schools to mischaracterize, minimize and in some cases even to deny the details and severity of what Luke has suffered.
Beyond obtaining compensatory and punitive damages for Luke, any lawyer(s) helping him should have, among their aims, that of forcing Flagler County Schools to create and maintain a safe environment for all students. In that, the ACLU has failed. Teacher Floyd Binkley is apparently too stupid to understand when something he says will cause emotional trauma to one of his students. Yet the school retains him in its employ. It raises eyebrows, that Binkley is married to the school superintendent’s executive secretary, and that persons with the Binkley family name have contributed money to Flagler Educational Foundation, which raises funds for Flagler Schools. Binkley should be relieved of all responsibilities that bring him into contact with students. Flagler County Schools and the ACLU should be investigated for conflicts of interest in this case.
That Luke’s stalker and attacker still attends Flagler Palm Coast High School demonstrates that nobody there . . and still less the ACLU . . .. takes creating a safe environment seriously enough. A school employee actually witnessed the attack, on public school property, in which Luke was hurled to the ground, his head hitting against the cement. As the attacker had previously directed anti-gay slurs at Luke while stalking him, setting the fear of death in him, this was a hate crime, and therefore, it should have been dealt with, if anything, more, not less severely than usual. This violent juvenile delinquent should, at the very least, be removed from school environments where there are no special, strict safeguards to keep him from hurting others. His name is not known to the public. In-depth investigations must be undertaken, to determine if his parents or any of his relatives or their associates have connections with Florida government, the Flagler Schools or the ACLU of Florida.
This is not the time to debate whether the ACLU should ever have defended The Westboro Baptist Church and Fred “God Hates Fags” Phelps. It is, however, an appropriate place to call attention to the ACLU’s funding. In 2004, it had total revenues exceeding eighty-five million dollars. Most of that came from donations. Some substantial part of it will have come from sources enthusiastic about causes like that of Mr. Phelps. With the exception of a few strongholds of enlightenment, Florida is largely backwards and ignorant, particularly as regards acceptance of gay people.
It is true that Luke’s ACLU attorney Shelbi Day helped overturn Florida’s gay adoption ban. However, that case was about law – it did not involve money. Were the ACLU to sue 1) Flagler County Schools, 2) school administration officials, 3) Floyd Binkley and 4) Luke’s stalker and attacker, the money for the bulk of an eventual financial settlement would come from tax payers’ dollars. The ACLU of Florida would likely not want to alienate its Florida donors and potential donors that way. There is, in other words, an appearance that the ACLU could have a financial disincentive about obtaining money for Luke.
The group has reached an agreement in Luke’s case that leaves his persecutors unpunished, the schools unsafe and the victim uncompensated. By cooperating with Flagler Schools and keeping very tight control over its messaging, the ACLU has wrapped this matter up promptly and is able to use Luke as a poster boy to attract donations, declaring victory where there isn’t one. That is an observation of fact in this case, not a blanket condemnation of the ACLU and how it strategizes to stay afloat. Luke, it should be noted, will not even be receiving funds to cover his “virtual school” expenses.
The initiative to find effective legal representation for Luke must come first from him, with the assistance of his mother or some other legal guardian. People of good conscience should let Luke and his mother know that we support them in their quest for justice. The school and the ACLU have done the equivalent of putting a band-aid on a gaping wound without even disinfecting it. Luke Herbert desperately needs an effective attorney.
APRIL 11, 2011 UPDATE: In its press release about its defense advocacy for Luke Herbert against Flagler County Schools, the ACLU of Florida boasted that it had gotten the school district to “consider” including “sexual-orientation-specific” language in such documents as the schools’ anti-bullying policies and student code of conduct. An investigation of those documents revealed that all of those documents ALREADY included such language, and that some of the documents had included that language at least as early as 2009. Either 1) the ACLU attorney had not read any of these documents, and was hoodwinked by the school into believing that getting the school to “consider” adding such language was an achievement, or 2) the ACLU was pulling the wool over the public’s eyes, not expecting anybody to research Flagler Schools’ documents. This reporter sent the ACLU an e-mail of concern, outlining what is reported in this update. The ACLU was asked for an explanation, and also, for any eventual clarification that might shed light on this matter, perhaps making the public better understand why it had behaved as it did. The ACLU did not give the courtesy of a reply.
Related posts:
- Gay Teen FL Harassed By Teacher, Tortured By Students, Denied Justice
- ACLU and Amnesty International Both Hammer Obama for Reversal on Detainee Photos
- Walker Linked Wisconsin Justice Called Female Chief Justice A “Bitch”
- Obama: Violence Like Giffords Shooting Has No Place In Our Society
- The Sacred Band – Thebes’ Honor and America’s Shame
So many things going on with this story that are misunderstood and dismissed by people — it’s heartbreaking.
There is no compensation for what he’s suffered, but an attempt to punish the perpetrators is necessary for society, for justice, and to set rules about what we will and will not tolerate.
There would be compensation, if a competent and determined lawyer were working for Luke. ACLU Shelbi Day keeps saying that she “hopes” school districts will look at what has gone on here, and react better to protect their gay students. That is just ridiculous. What would make other school districts pay attention would be a sharp bite out of the finances of Flagler County Schools. Flagler is a school district where, now, they are falling all over themselves, saying they “take bullying seriously.” Nonsense. How seriously were they taking it, when they placed Luke’s stalker and attacker back in his same classroom? Flagler itself will only take appropriate action when made to pay a financial cost in this matter.
Is the ACLU as strong in Florida as it is other places? Just wondering because I know a lawyer in Florida. I’ll have to ask them if they know anything about this.
So true. Money talks. They stuck him with his abuser and condoned the abuse by doing so. Stalking by a physically aggressive and threatening person is a form of torture and terror and should be treated as such. But all over this country, you see law enforcement ignore stalking and dismiss it as a joke. And yet every hour, someone dies in this country from sexually oriented stalking and abuse.
Persons wishing to e-mail me about this story may send to srose272@gmail.com
I have stated it before: Seventh Judicial Circuit is riddled with cronyism, and especially where “important” family ties are involved, a poor, unconnected, or unpopular plaintiff has scant chance of getting representation, much less diligent representation, and still less a fair hearing in court. I daresay that when this boy’s parents inquired about causes of action, they were told they had none, even to being lied to about the law. Yet several such causes lie, some of them federal (42USC§§1983 et seq., as well as more recently enacted hate crimes legislation, suggest themselves as grounds for federal jurisdiction), and once federal jurisdiction is obtained, state causes can be included under pendant jurisdiction. Get an attorney who is a member of the National Lawyers’ Guild, the SPLC, or both, and get them from outside this circuit.
Thank you, Reynardine. Luke reported to me that the ACLU had told him there is no law suit here.
Great feedback, Reynardine — as always.
People wishing to express concern for Luke Herbert’s well-being might contact the office of Mark Kappelhoff, Chief of the Civil Rights Division of the United States Department of Justice: 202-514-3204.
The concern expressed should extend to the safety of other students, and especially, other LGBT students in Flagler County Schools. The student who stalked Luke with death threats, repeatedly assaulted him in the halls and then dashed him to the ground where his head hit hard against cement is still in the school. This vicious anti-gay delinquent’s continued presence in the school is, ipso facto, a terrorizing and inhibiting presence to gay students, out and closeted.
The school is giving empty promises to the ACLU, when it has already been demonstrated that the school’s promises are worthless. They promised Luke that his stalker and attacker would not be placed back in his same classroom, but then placed him there anyway. It is as though somebody in the school administration *wanted* Luke to suffer even more.
How far a stretch is that, really, when you see the totality of what teacher Floyd Binkley did to Luke, how the school is covering up that totality, and how the ACLU is letting them get away with covering it up? Binkley is married to the school superintendent’s secretary. Various Binkleys have contributed to Flagler Educational Foundation. Might this be why Floyd Binkley is still in his job? Might Luke’s stalker and attacker through his parents be connected to powerful people in Flagler County?
There are grounds to fear for Luke’s ongoing safety and well-being. The ACLU at first refused me an interview with him. After they refused, Luke sent me a private message through Facebook, saying he was not supposed to be messaging me, as per the ACLU’s instructions to him, but that I should continue to do everything possible to get his story out. My first story about him was published last Thursday. Luke’s Facebook profile disappeared from Facebook on Friday. Was he coerced into removing his Facebook profile?
Because of this band aid approach which does nothing to make Luke’s tormentor, the teacher, or the school system accountable, there is another sickening miscarriage of justice waiting to happen. I wonder how these people sleep at night, and what they’ll be saying if another student goes through torment worse than that Luke endured, and it ends in murder. Kids who’ve been bullied and have seen no way out because of adults who failed them have resorted to killing other kids (Columbine) or have been murdered by bullies. I firmly believe that at the bottom of it all is an intolerance toward gays that is shared among much of the student body and the school system.
The chances are that his abuser was placed back in class with him expressly as a form of intimidation/retaliation, which is clearly official misconduct cognizable under the above, and other, provisions of the U.S. Code. 18 USC contains many provisions that track those in 42 USC on a criminal level, and once he finds a competent and diligent advocate to assist him in organizing the evidence and facts, bring in an AUSA on the deal might be a good move. Vengefulness on my part is quite a minor portion of wanting to see this smelly little frog pond blown open to the tide and invaded by some real gators; I won’t deny some small personal satisfaction, but my greatest concern is with the ordinary litigants of this circuit, who seldom get redress if they’re nobodies and never if they’re up against somebodies.
The Matthew Shepard Act expands the 1969 United States federal hate-crime law to include crimes motivated by a victim’s actual or perceived gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability. It gives federal authorities greater ability to engage in hate crimes investigations that local authorities choose not to pursue.
I suggest that Luke or his guardian contact The Southern Poverty Law center.I am a member of this fine organization and they handle cases like this and usually win.Here is the address and email–
The Southern Poverty law Center-400 Washington Avenue-Montgomery,Al 36104
http://www.splc.org
I am an employee of the ACLU (not in Florida). I have not been privy to any behind-the-scenes discussion of the particulars of this case, and I must confess I am not particularly familiar with the specifics of the case, so I cannot offer any specific insight there.
What motivates me to reply, and what I can say with certainty, is that you get two things VERY wrong:
(1) That there was no money involved in fighting Florida’s gay adoption ban. In point of fact, any time the ACLU sues a government entity (Federal, state, or local) for infringement of constitutional rights, they are entitled under US law to legal fees from that entity. Though I do not know off-hand how much the ACLU received from the State of Florida (if it has even been received yet, as these things are often held up by appeals and by processing delays) I can promise you it was multiple millions of dollars.
(2) To suppose that the ACLU has a strong base of support from “sources enthusiastic about causes like that of Mr. Phelps” is, to an insider, laughable. The ACLU’s position in that case was based solely on principle, and has been fantastically unpopular with the majority of ACLU donors. I know hundreds of ACLU donors from around the country, and I can promise you there is NO anti-gay pressure from donors. If there are donors who get upset about this case, it is going to be in support of your position, I assure you.
I’m not the type to get offended by accusations of ulterior motives, but I can tell you factually that the ACLU rarely, if ever, bases legal positions on the preferences of its donors and supporters. I certainly can’t pretend that I’ve been present for every conversation about every case in every state affiliate, but I can say that we’ve taken enough positions that were very unpopular with our donors to draw very clear conclusions – the Skokie case in 1977 in an old case and a bit extreme, but the organization lost approximately 1/3 of its donors because of anger over that position, which was based on principle).
I can only speculate on the specifics in this case, but there are often complicated wrinkles in individual cases, and sometimes the ACLU does not want to call attention to them. For instance, in some cases there are wrongdoings on the part of the plaintiff that make a case impossible to win. Sometimes there are simply wrinkles in area law, or in precedent, that lead attorneys to decide there “is no case.” To be very clear, I HAVE NO INSIDE INFORMATION on this case, and I am merely giving a general “for instance.”
I have no more information than you do about this specific situation, but I’m here to tell you that the reasons you speculate may be a cause are certainly incorrect. Most likely there is something you (a) don’t know, or (b) don’t understand that led the ACLU to their chosen course of action.
I object, that somebody claiming to be an employee of the ACLU comes here to criticize what I have written, and gives as their name “Anonymous.” That’s the first thing. The second thing would be, that the things I speculate on merit further investigation, not a blanket claim that they are not so and that no investigations are merited. I am directing interested readers to Wendy Kaminer’s article HOW THE ACLU LOST ITS BEARINGS:
http://wendykaminer.com/aclu.html
And also to her book WORST INSTINCTS: COWARDICE, CONFORMITY AND THE ACLU.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0807044369/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_1?pf_rd_p=486539851&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=080704430X&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=0205V7RGPFBXCWW49VKN
Commenting as “ANONYMOUS” as an ACLU employee in defense of the ACLU would be an example of cowardice.