School officials discriminated against an openly gay librarian at a prestigious high school in lower Manhattan when they suspended him for touching and whispering to students to maintain order, a Manhattan Supreme Court has ruled, Reuters reporting that Christopher Asch had no history of disciplinary issues and his actions were the same as a heterosexual female librarian's at Stuyvesant High School, yet a Department of Education hearing officer suspended him last year for six months and ordered him to undergo counselling and/or training to understand "appropriate professional and physical boundaries between himself and the students," according to the decision Justice Manuel Mendez issued Tuesday. In ruling for Asch, Mendez wrote, "Touching students and whispering in their ear are acceptable practices to maintain order in the library and there is no rational basis for a finding that his touching of students, which was done in the same manner as a heterosexual librarian, constitutes an inappropriate touching; especially given his history of 20 years of exemplary service." Asch could not be reached for comment. The departmental charges were brought in 2008 for allegations students raised, according to the decision. Asch was ultimately arrested on criminal charges in 2009, but those charges were dismissed in October 2009 after an investigation by the Manhattan District Attorney's Office. A disciplinary hearing ensued, and Hearing Officer David Hyland found that Asch was not involved in sexual misconduct, but that some of the touching was inappropriate. Asch challenged the decision by filling a petition in Supreme Court on the grounds that the arbitrator's decision was excessive and based on prejudice. An attorney for the city said it was evaluating its options. "Our position is that the finding of guilt was supported by adequate evidence in the record and the penalty imposed by the arbitrator was not shocking to the conscience," James Hallman, assistant corporation counsel, said in a statement. But Mendez found that the sanctions were "shocking to this court's sense of fairness," adding that “Hearing Officer Hyland may not have intended to discriminate against the petitioner, but the opinion and award has that effect." The ruling concluded that “Petitioner has the right not to be discriminated against or abused by students based on his sexual orientation."
A Lexington County, South Carolina prosecutor served a two-day suspension in May after the victim in a domestic case said the prosecutor dropped a harassment case against the victim's ex-girlfriend. The victim said the case was dropped because the women are gay. It happened in April, inside a Swansea courtroom, according to a report by WIS-TV. Lexington County sheriff's department records show that Criminal Domestic Violence Prosecutor Nicole Howland was suspended two days, starting May 24, 2011. The case was investigated by the department's Internal Affairs investigator, Major Darren Amick. Amick finished the report on May 24, but the department did not provide the report to WIS until late Thursday. Howland's write-up charges her with a violation of the sheriff's department policy 1.12: Treatment of Person in the Performance of Duty. The disciplinary report states, "Pursuant to your actions on April 19, 2011 in dealing with the criminal case (State v. Staack) at the District 4 Magistrate's Office in Swansea…" The police states: "Employees of the department should always be civil and courteous when dealing with the public." Howland's signature appears at the bottom of the write-up. The sheriff's office charged Cyndi Roland's ex-girlfriend, Marci Staack with harassment in January. After the April court hearing, Howland dropped the charges against Staack. Howland told Roland, "She said that she was not going to try the case because she felt she could not find six jurors to hear the case due to my alternative lifestyle." The case was not re-opened. "This picture was probably taken, the two of us, in the spring of 1999," Roland said, holding a picture of her and Staack. Their relationship lasted 13 years. It all ended last September when Roland called it quits. Roland said the harassment started. There were nearly 300 texts and hundreds of calls. It was all documented and reported to Lexington County deputies. "Numerous texts and phone calls," she said. "I'm watching you. I'm going to be on every corner. You'll never be with anyone else." Roland said that "Anytime I would pull out of my drive onto the highway, within a matter of minutes she was behind me." Roland said she went to Swansea Magistrate William Shockley in October to get a restraining order. The judge, according to Roland, told her he didn't want to get in the middle of the problem. After two trial delays, both sides met at Shockley's courtroom for a jury to decide the case. "That was my worst-case scenario," said Roland. "Worst that could happen is it's going to be postponed again. That's not the way it turned out." County Prosecutor Nicole Howland's job was to prosecute the case against Staack. Roland said prosecutors asked her before court if she'd consider dropping the charges. Roland said no. "She turned around, threw the case file down on the table, said she was going to address the whole court," said Roland. "She said that she was not going to try the case because she felt she could not find six jurors to hear the case due to my alternative lifestyle." In an interview in April, Lexington County Sheriff James Metts said that "Alternative lifestyle, no, that would not be a valid reason at all." Sheriff Metts had his internal affairs investigator open a file April 19. Roland and three of the women who said they heard Howland's reason for dropping met with a sheriff's investigator the same day. "I'm a taxpayer, just like everybody out there," said Roland. "I have rights. I deserve equal justice just like everybody else does. I don't care how I live my life. That's nobody's business. I'm asking for help and can't get it." Howland returned to work on May 26.
Joel Edgerton and Tom Hardy bring their collective hotness to the red carpet Monday in Paris for the film Warrior.
Alexander Skarsgard has a temper tantrum.
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