We have been following rulings on spanking where parents have been arrested for the disciplining of their children. The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court has overturned the conviction of Jean Dorvil who was arrested after he spanked his daughter in public.
The incident occurred in 2011 in a Brockton bus terminal while Jean Dorvil was walking with his daughter and her mother. Witnesses said that Dorvil kicked his daughter in her backside while yelling “shut up,” and then spanked her. An officer said that he saw the mother shield the daughter from him as the child was crying. When confronted, Dorvil said he was disciplining his daughter and denied kicking her. Another officer said that he witnessed a slow and hesitant kick. His wife later said that he spanked her because the child refused to go to her mother and continued to play near the street.
He was conviction of assault and battery and the judge stated that if “you’re in public with your kids, it’s not appropriate to discipline in this fashion.” That is a curious distinction. Could he do these same acts in private?
Dorvil lost his appeal based on the appellate courts view that the child lacked the capacity to understand the discipline and that the father spanked her “when he was upset and angry.” Again, another curious distinction. Does that mean he can spank her if he is not angry?
The Court laid out guidelines for spanking in overturning the conviction. This includes permitted spanking so long as the use of force is reasonable; it is used to safeguard or promote the welfare of the child; and it doesn’t cause severe emotional distress, “gross degradation” or physical harm “beyond fleeting pain or minor, transient marks.”
Writing for the seven-member court, Justice Barbara Lenk sought to balance protecting children against abuse and avoiding unnecessary interference with parental rights.
Here is the full opinion: Dorvil opinion
Who kicks a three year old child? Who kicks anyone?
Nick, it is important that Steve and other liberals must follow their their own rules.
What “I” think (or rather “think”) is meaningless compared to what the Party thinks.
The recent SCOTUS rulings have proven this.
“Common sense” is now an illegitimate basis for personal decisions about your children or any other matter.
What The Party demands is Law, even though that may change from day to day.
You don’t have to believe, you just have to fall in line.
Heretics will be silenced.
@ stevegroen
Spanking is not battering. There is a world of difference between a quick swat on the behind to get the child’s attention and physically manhandling and beating of a child.
Parents need to be able to discipline their children. Undisciplined children either grow up to be feral animals who know no boundaries; or they become special snowflakes because their parents went too far the other way and allowed them to be the rulers of the family and caved into their every widdle wish. Either way, you have spoiled the child and created a flawed adult.
You shouldn’t be spanking or disciplining in anger or when you are out of control yourself. Calm down and realize that you are dealing with an small uncivilized animal. 🙂 Spanking or of a small child should only be when they are putting themselves in danger.
I rarely had to discipline/spank my child and usually found that a time out or depriving of a favorite toy or activity would get the job done.
Pogo, This is a topic that helps identify the fringe element in our society. As a doc, I know you’ve seen child abuse. And as a good person, I know you would never condone it and are legally obligated to report it. But, as a person w/ common sense, you know all corporal punishment is not abuse.
steve groen, I have tried to have logical discussions w/ you in the past, to no avail. I’ll give it one more shot. I LOVE children. I have seen child abuse working in a big city Juvenile Court. Spanking your child, while under control, is not child abuse. And equating spanking a child’s rear for quick consequences is not even close to “battering your neighbor.” And, as stated previously, w/ your banning decree, you best start building many prisons because you will be locking up more than half of the black parents in this country. I’m guessing you’re a big zero tolerance guy in school discipline as well?
Stevegroen, for example, has a post that borders on racist:
From Slate: Blacks Don’t Have a Corporal Punishment Problem
by Jamelle Bouie
http://www.slate.com/content/dam/slate/Authors/jamelle_bouie-authorbio.png
”
Watch your choices, Steve.
‘No comment’ is the preferred reaction until the Liberal Elite have released the Current Permissible Beliefs about Spanking Children.
Note that this changes weekly, but enforcement is ruthless.
Comments here (and their authors) have been duly documented.
Thank you for your patience.
[Other acceptable reactions: “Oh my!” and “Gosh, I wonder how the SCOTUS will rule on this?”)
Nick, if you can’t batter your neighbor, please let me know your rationale for battering your own child, other than:
“I take note this case is out of Brockton, Ma. That is the birthplace of Rocky Marciano. Brockton has always been a tough town.”
“[F]leeting pain or minor, transient marks” are constructive discipline enough to prepare them for life in a tough town?
The rule for normal people this. It cannot be legislated, but it is common sense. NEVER hit your child in anger.
The “no corporal punishment” decree by our liberal barrister would criminalize the parent who slaps her child’s hand about to touch fire.
Of course, a liberal like Steve Groen want to ban. Liberals love to ban. When I was a young liberal it was conservatives who were into banning. Now, the Stalinist liberals in the US want to ban everything they find non PC.
I take note this case is out of Brockton, Ma. That is the birthplace of Rocky Marciano. Brockton has always been a tough town.
How about a big bright line rather than a multiple-element reasonableness standard that varies demographically? Here it is: no corporal punishment.
vad, One of the problems for people who enable black folk is the cultural differences in the way they discipline children. What the white culture considers abuse they consider simply discipline. The classic season of the mother slappin’ her son upside the head in Baltimore showed that difference well. Mom was just getting her knucklehead son’s mind right so he didn’t loot. I’ve had many discussions w/ black people about this cultural difference.
Hitting a child says more about the parent than the child.
There’s NO excuse for hitting a three year old. Child won’t go to mother? Pick her up and take her to mother. Geez. Brutal with no imagination.
Perhaps reasonable criteria would be whether the child realizes what the punishment is for. “Reasonable” is very subjective and may be very different in different cultures. As for “emotional distress”, surely it _is_ supposed to cause exactly that, in order to be effective in preventing the behavior in question.
God says we can beat our children. ( Proverbs 13:24 )
So parents have a “right” to assault their children? What a travesty.
I saw too much abuse when I worked @ a juvenile court in KC. They were not spankings, They were beatings of the head and torso. They were shaking until there was brain injury. They were broken limbs and ribs. They were concussions. Our “justice” system has run amuck.