Florida Lawsuit Raises Questions About the Lawfulness of Arresting Children
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit acknowledged that although the arrest had "a devastating effect" on the child, it was not unlawful.
October 22, 2019 at 03:49 PM
5 minute read
A Lakeland girl will not receive a new trial over claims she was wrongly arrested for allegedly stalking and harassing 12-year-old Rebecca Sedwick, who killed herself in 2013 over alleged bullying by classmates.
The case raises questions about what constitutes unlawful search and seizure when arresting children. And although the appellate panel acknowledged the arrest had "a devastating effect" on the plaintiff, it determined the officers' actions were not unlawful.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit found it was reasonable for Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd and his deputy Jonathan McKinney to have concluded that Katelyn Roman, who was 12 at the time, had willfully, maliciously and repeatedly harassed her estranged best friend, even though the charges were ultimately dropped.
What happened?
Sedwick jumped off a silo at an abandoned cement plant in 2013.
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