Miscellaneous

What? The Courts Have Nothing Else to do in Canada

I guess the court system north of the border is so underused that they have deigned to step in the middle of parent/child disputes, as evidenced by this case, where a 12-year-old sued her parents to overturn a grounding:

A Canadian court has lifted a 12-year-old girl's grounding, overturning her father's punishment for disobeying his orders to stay off the internet, his lawyer said.

The girl had taken her father to Quebec Superior Court after he refused to allow her to go on a school trip for chatting on websites he tried to block, and then posting "inappropriate" pictures of herself online using a friend's computer.

The father's lawyer Kim Beaudoin said the disciplinary measures were for the girl's "own protection" and is appealing the ruling.

"She's a child," Beaudoin said.

"At her age, children test their limits and it's up to their parents to set boundaries.

"I started an appeal of the decision today to reestablish parental authority, and to ensure that this case doesn't set a precedent," she said. Otherwise, said Beaudoin, "parents are going to be walking on egg shells from now on".

Apparently, Canadian courts have something against decent parenting. If my kid had done this, I'd have doubled the punishment for taking me to court. This is why, sometimes, a good old fashioned spanking is in order: Let's see a court overturn that!

Full post as published by Quiz Law on June 19, 2008 (boomark / email).