The judges on the 5th Circuit that ruled that children must cheer for their rapists

[usregimechange]

"Moreover, this act constituted substantial interference with the work of the school because, as a cheerleader, H.S. was at the basketball game for the purpose of cheering, a position she undertook voluntarily."

Before GARZA (Reagan appointee), CLEMENT (W. Bush appointee), and OWEN (W. Bush appointee), Circuit Judges.

[derby378]

1. Seems like I remember some tried to block Owen from the 5th Circuit

This is a good example of why those activists were right all along.

[usregimechange]

2. Link

http://www.ca5.uscourts.gov/opinions/unpub/09/09-41075.0.wpd.pdf

[Better Today]

3. I have a tough time with this one, as the rape charge was not indicted, and

that means it was an "alleged" rapist. I'm torn between my gut reaction to the term rapist, and my intellectual belief that one is innocent till proven guilty, and even innocent after being judged guilty, and that there's much more of that in the USA than there is guilty walking free.

[usregimechange]

6. "They were later indicted on sexual assault charges..."

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/11/05/MNDQ1G1R78.DTL

[jancantor]

57. read the decision

http://www.ca5.uscourts.gov/opinions/unpub/09/09-41075.0.wpd.pdf

And as one legal wag once put it "you can indict a ham sandwich". He wasn't convicted, and the grand jury refused to indict initially, fwiw. Arguments have been made that it was racial bias for the defendant (if you read the case) that prevented the GJ from indicting him initially. I'm not sure how true that is. But it's an allegation. Regardless, the kid was not convicted of rape. He is not a convicted felon, he is a misdemeanant. He was convicted of misdemeanor assault, when he pled out to same. No court has adjudicated him a rapist.

[Scout]

4. you can't stay on the cheer team and NOT cheer for one person

whether they raped you or not.

should he be in jail not school? probably

but since he's NOT, if she wants to be a cheerleader, then she has to cheer for everyone.

personally, i think cheerleading is stupid and sexist, since NO ONE, especially not boys, seems to cheer for the girls teams.

quit the team, or cheer for everyone. life is full of bad choices.

[usregimechange]

8. Is this DU?

[jpgray]

9. It's a bit appalling. (nt)

[blondeatlast]

25. I'm beginning to seriously wonder. I'm barely into this thread and already appalled

at the responses.

[usregimechange]

11. The bad choice here was the boy who assaulted/raped her

[uppityperson]

15. In this instance, what does "life is full of bad choices" mean?

[Cid_B]

18. Rah Rah..

Sis Boom Bah! Go Team..... except for Jimmie Smith who is a bastard! YAY!

[Gormy Cuss]

19. Sure you can.

If the person in charge of the cheerleading squad had just a wee bit of empathy he or she would've figured out how to accomplish this without it becoming a court case. For example, if they cheer his name, the girl can say nothing. If they have cheers for specific players, they can be planned for a subset of cheerleaders and this girl would always be out of the rotation for the kid who sexually assaulted her. Those are just the first thoughts off the top of my head.

[uppityperson]

21. Seems so to me also. It was easily enough worked around.

Rotate them for saying names, or let her cheer "X X, he's the Best, he rapes them better than all the rest" or some such.

[blondeatlast]

26. "Reasonable accomadation" could and should cover crime victims as well, IMHO. nt

[jpgray]

27. Or, those guilty of sexual assault could be banned from school sports

Just an idea. :)

[tammywammy]

53. When she was kicked off, he wasn't charged with anything n/t

[Warren Stupidity]

47. why is that?

Seems she could just sit out the rapists cheer.

[kelly1mm]

5. You mean alleged, not convicted, not even indited rapist, right?

Additionally, she can choose to not be a cheerleader and not have to cheer anyone. So, no, children were not ordered to cheer their rapists.

[usregimechange]

7. "Bolton ended up getting off without serving any jail time by pleading guilty to a lesser assault "

"Bolton ended up getting off without serving any jail time by pleading guilty to a lesser assault charge, spending two years on probation..."

http://www.jettandjahn.com/2010/10/rakheem-bolton-rapes-cheerleader/

[kelly1mm]

10. And? he was not convicted of rape, right?nt

[usregimechange]

13. Did you change your argument? He wasn't indicted, wasn't convicted, now he wasn't convicted of rape

Yes, they took a plea deal and he pled guilty to assault. What type of assault do you suppose that was?

[kelly1mm]

31. No, I am not changing my argument. Indictments come from Grand

Juries - none came down in this case from what I have read. If you have evidence that an indictment did come from a grand jury I will very quickly admitt I was wrong on that point. I DID NOT say he was not charged. TX, like almost all states, has several levels of assault and several levels of sexual assault. The racist web site you posted does not make it clear what he pled to exactly so I have no idea what type of assault he was convicted of.

[usregimechange]

38. "They were later indicted on sexual assault charges..."

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/11/05/MNDQ1G1R78.DTL

[kelly1mm]

52. Read the link and you were right - he was indicted. Not of rape, but

of sexual assault. It looks like he pled out to simple assault and thus will not have to register as sexual offender. I hope the victim can get on with her life.

[NashVegas]

14. How Good Of You To Stand Up For the Rights of High School Athletes Who Commit Assault

We are not in a court of law, but public opinion.

[kelly1mm]

32. I stood up for someone who the OP claimed was a rapist before he

has been convicted of rape. Thats all.

[usregimechange]

39. He pled down but guilty to sexual assault

[kelly1mm]

41. so he was not convicted of rape, as I ponted out above, right? nt

[usregimechange]

46. You are right, the rapist pled down to assault but was indicted and was convicted

[uppityperson]

59. Are you SERIOUSLY saying you can't be a rapist until you are convicted of rape?

"Thats all"?

[uppityperson]

22. Just sexual assault. And your point is? nt

[kelly1mm]

36. That the OP title was hyperbole, unlike the two other threads on this

topic on the greatest page that correctly stated "alleged rapist" in the title.

[usregimechange]

40. It isn't alleged, he pled guilty and was convicted and sentenced

[kelly1mm]

45. Of rape? No, he was not convicted of rape. Two other threads on

the greatest page on this exact topic included the term "alleged rapist". Failing to add that is what was hyperbole.

[usregimechange]

48. It is too late for me to change the OP but frankly it doesn't matter, children shouldn't be asked to

cheer for an abuser and more than they should be asked to cheer for their rapist. The is a legal argument not an ethical one. Frankly, I think he has been given enough consideration on this matter.

[kelly1mm]

51. On tht we actually agree. I think it was tragic what happened to her

by the alleged rapist and by the school.

[usregimechange]

54. I guess in a strict legal sense he is a convicted abuser and an alleged rapist?

Now, I hope he doesn't read this and get offended.

[kelly1mm]

55. I am actually trying to confirm that they let this "kid" plead to simple

assault - which means no sex offender list. He needs to be on it IMO.

[NashVegas]

43. There's a Little Check For You To Ignore An Article You Don't Like

Go for it.

[uppityperson]

12. How about Sexual Assault then? What he was indicted and pled to.

[usregimechange]

17. Rape and sexual assault seem fairly similar to me

[uppityperson]

20. you can be sexually assaulted without being raped, but I agree

I don't think you can be raped without being sexually assaulted, but you can be sexually assaulted without being raped.

I think it depends on state by state definition, that they may alo extend "rape" to "sexual assault" to cover more options/crimes.

I don't know why he was allowed to continue to represent his school by playing on the team.

[kelly1mm]

35. self delete - He was indicted of sexual assault, not rape, and pled

out to simple assault. I was incorrect on the indictment part.

Look, I am not trying in anyway to dismiss the wrong done here. I am just trying to make it clear that he was not convicted of rape and thus, the title of the OP is a bit over the top.

[NashVegas]

16. Unfortunately, The School IS Acting Within Its Rights

And there is no legal requirement to treat rape victims with decency.

The only thing to do here, IMO, is for offended parents to put unceasing pressure on the school board to fire the offending administrators.

[usregimechange]

23. "Silsbee school officials had two responses to the incident. First, they urged (the victim)...

"...to keep a low profile, such as avoiding the school cafeteria and not taking part in homecoming activities."

Should they not have been saying this to the guilty party?

[NashVegas]

42. Morally, Their Behavior Is Reprehensible

Until there is a law that sexual offenders cannot engage in high school sports ....

[muriel_volestrangler]

44. There's a timeline needed here

We know that, at the time of the game, there were no charges pending:

In September 2010, Bolton pled guilty to a lesser charge of Class A Assault and was sentenced to one year in prison, a sentence that was suspended by the judge in lieu of two years probation, a $2,500 fine, community service and an anger management course.

Silsbee school officials had two responses to the incident. First, they urged H.S. to keep a low profile, such as avoiding the school cafeteria and not taking part in homecoming activities. With the support of her family, she refused to do so, rejecting the notion that she had anything to be ashamed of. Secondly, school officials kicked her off the cheerleading squad for refusing to cheer for Bolton. No kidding.

Bolton had been allowed back on campus during a brief period when one grand jury withdrew the charges before another grand jury reinstated them. During a basketball game, H.S. cheered for the entire team but refused to cheer “Rakheem” during his free-throws, so she was off the squad.

H.S.’s parents sued the school for violating her right to free speech, but an appeals court dismissed her case earlier this month. The bizarre reasoning: “In her capacity as cheerleader, (she) served as a mouthpiece through which the school could disseminate speech–namely, support for its athletic teams.” Not cheering for Bolton “constituted substantial interference with the work of the school because, as a cheerleader, (she) was at the basketball game for the purpose of cheering, a position she undertook voluntarily.” In other words, the “work of the school” is basketball, and H.S. was obligated to put on a robotic smile and cheer for the man who had assaulted her.

http://msmagazine.com/blog/blog/2010/10/15/cheerleader-required-to-cheer-for-man-who-assaulted-her/

So I can see why they would say at that time that if the charges had been dropped, she was going to have to do the cheerleading without singling him out. The question is whether they kept her off the squad after charges had been reinstated. Do we know?

[TorchTheWitch]

24. I can't understand why she's still going to the same school with him

How is it that her parents didn't transfer her to another school? Like, having to run into her rapist in the hallways, classrooms, cafeteria, library, etc. is somehow ok and only cheering for the team he's on is offensive?

If I had a daughter raped by a classmate there's no way in HELL I'd torture her by making her continue to attend the same school as her rapist. No way whatsoever that I'd ever allow any kind of contact or the possibility of contact by him ever again even if it meant pulling up stakes and moving out of state.

I'm just baffled as to why she's still attending school with her rapist at all.

[bighart]

30. Couldn't agree more.

[blondeatlast]

33. Edit: replied to wrong post.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

37. If she changes schools, she may not make the cheer squad

And the school will not throw the rapist out, not if he's a good football player. Ya gotta have priorities.

[usregimechange]

49. Why in the hell are you not asking why he is still attending that school or playing on the team?

[TorchTheWitch]

60. it should be obvious

Of COURSE he shouldn't be allowed to continue to attend the school or play on the team, but that's a moot point since he's obviously been given a slap on the wrist and is not only still allowed to remain at the school but even allowed to play on the team. That obvious issue has already been discussed by scads of people in a multitude of threads on this story.

You have a problem with my bringing up a point no one else had yet concerning this story without reassuring everyone first what my opinion is about his continued attendance at the school, his being allowed to remain on the team, the school's failure in permitting same, the prosecutor's failure permitting pleading down to a lesser charge, the judge's failure in a more appropriate sentence for his crime, the community's failure in not protesting all of the above, etc., etc., etc.? Are we now required to furnish an entire dissertation concerning our stance on every point of a story before bringing up an overlooked point?

[treestar]

28. The 5th Circuit is horrible

Always is.

[laughingliberal]

29. Out-fucking-rageous! nt

[blondeatlast]

34. Have I got this correct, fellow liberals? Let the victim of an assault work it out for herself,

blame the parents of the victim, and it's her problem if she has to give up an activity that she enjoys because she was an assault victim (especially because that activity is "stupid and sexist")--and the VICTIM should have to change schools, not the assaulter.

If I missed anything, I'm certain Free Republic is discussing this as well. :puke:

[usregimechange]

50. My head has almost exploded several times

[jancantor]

56. I judge the decision based on the decision

not who made it. Heck, even Thomas on the SCOTUS can be right sometimes ... like he was on the medical mj case.

In this case, the decision was correct. Based on the law. Read it. Not an article ABOUT it, but the actual decision...
http://www.ca5.uscourts.gov/opinions/unpub/09/09-41075.0.wpd.pdf

[TexasObserver]

58. The 5th Circuit is a Who's Who of Wack-a-doos.