Legal Commentary

As detailed in this local Florida story, headlined "Teen Forced To Carry 'I Am Stupid' Sign After Speeding Ticket," a mother recently made headlines by imposing a shaming punishment on her reckless son.  Here are the basic details:

Adam Clark was pulled over going 107 mph in a 55-mph zone; neither the police nor his mother were pleased.  Adam's mother, Heidi Wisniewski, not only took his car away, but also made him a sign to show outside of his school every morning and every afternoon.

He was forced to hold a sign reading, "I was stupid. I drove over 100 mph and got caught. Thank God!  I could have killed me and my friends."  Adam said he got some strange looks and laughs from classmates at Orlando's Merritt Island High School, but said he accepts his punishment.  Despite the humiliation, he said he isn't mad at his mother....

Wisniewski said her son would be in front of the school before and after school for a month, and added that she didn't think the punishment is over the line.  "I love my son very much," she said.  "I think more parents need to be tougher on their children."...

Adam said the punishment worked.  "I've learned my lesson," Adam said.

As a fan of shaming punishments, I am quite pleased to hear about a mother willing to impose a (quite effective) type of punishment that the criminal justice system is often unwilling to impose.

Of course, I know that many (like Dan Markel) are adamantly opposed to shaming punishments.  I wonder if Dan or others consider the mother in this story to be unfit because she imposed a severe shaming punishment.  Or do those who oppose state-sponsored shaming punishments believe that parents can justifiably use these punishment even though the state should not?  If this is the view of anti-shaming advocates, are they fundamentally asserting that the state should never consider taking on a parental-type role in the operation of a criminal justice system?

Cross-posted at SL&P