Damages

I recently read an article on the World Wide Web regarding an incident which has led to a lawsuit. ALL I know about the incident is what I read in the article, and I do not know any of the people involved, whether the article is accurate, or whether perhaps it is all fiction. Regardless of the details or truth of the article, it raises some profound issues.

According to the article, a twelve-year-old was writing on her school desktop -- that is, writing directly on the desk (the article calls it "doodling") -- "with erasable green marker" and as a consequence was forcibly taken to "the dean's office" and searched before the police were summoned to arrest her. The police handcuffed her, took her to the precinct headquarters and detained her there, "handcuffed to a pole for more than two hours."

The article does not say exactly what happened next, but apparently she was released, eventually suspended from school, and "given eight hours of community service and ordered to write a book report and an essay about what she learned from the experience."

Later, "New York City officials acknowledged Gonzalez's arrest was a mistake." Now, the student and her mother are "suing the New York City Education Department and the New York Police Department for $1 million in damages, claiming excessive use of force and violation of the girl's rights in the ordeal, which Comacho has called a "nightmare.""

As I have already stated, ALL of my information comes from this one article, and I have no reason to believe it is totally accurate, but for the purpose of this discussion I will consider the entire situation hypothetical, and therefore exactly as I have just described it. Even in this oversimplified form, the issue is complicated.

Thoughtful, rational, intelligent people might have a full range of reactions to this incident. Some would say the student got what she deserved, or possibly should have been punished more severely. Probably more would agree that the authorities overreacted. Some might argue that the student deserves even more monetary compensation than one million dollars.

I am honestly not sure where I stand on this issue, but I am deeply troubled about the source of the million dollars sought by the student and her mother. Under our present system, any money that they receive is unlikely to come directly from any of the individuals involved. IF the money comes from "the New York City Education Department and the New York Police Department" then it is actually coming from taxpayers and the various sources of funding for those two departments. More likely, the money would come from insurance policies, in which case it is coming from a wider pool, and in a sense, from ALL of us. Either way, the money would be coming from a large number of individuals uninvolved with the case. One can argue that this is an abstraction, or irrelevant, but it remains true.

No matter how badly the student was mistreated by school officials and/or police, it is hard for me to accept the idea that she now deserves a million dollars from the rest of us -- and the money would indeed be coming from the rest of us. If instead the student and her mother were demanding that individuals involved in the case be reprimanded, fired, or personally punished in some other way, I could not argue -- but instead they are asking for a big chunk of cash from the rest of us.

There are those who would argue that the student has been deeply scarred by the experience, and for that I am willing to offer her an apology from all of society -- but not one million dollars. (I do not really see how a million dollars is going to un-scar her, though perhaps it would pay for therapy, if she chose to use it for that purpose.) Others will argue that the amount needs to be that large to "send a message"; to make the individuals involved reflect upon their misdeeds. I am unconvinced that this is effective, since the money is actually coming from a vast pool of individuals ... BUT, if this is truly the case, then perhaps I would be willing to have a million dollar fine imposed, but paid to some worthy charity or perhaps used to reduce the national debt. This would still "send a message" but it would not personally enrich the student and her mother at MY expense.

Finally, there are those who would argue that the money is coming from SUCH a vast pool that the effect on me personally is insignificant, and therefore I have no right to object. In a world with finite and dwindling resources, and many people in hardship, I cannot accept this idea. Even pennies add up, and millions add up more quickly.

This is the way I view most large monetary damage awards. For those who are truly deserving of a large financial settlement, I suggest we set up a system where anyone who wishes to contribute can do so. This student and her mother might end up with considerably MORE than a million dollars, which would be fine by me, as long as the money is contributed voluntarily. I am willing to offer sympathy, and I have no problem with punishing those who wronged you, but unless you can make the case that YOUR loss entitles you to MY money, keep your hands out of MY pockets!