"Zero tolerance" travesty. (Making a Difference).

Patrick Bryant, 16, is a junior at Palatine High School in Palatine, Illinois. He hopes to become a Marine some day, so developed an interest in guns. His mother, Mary, says, "I don't see anything wrong with that," but some school officials did.

Early last year a parent told a teacher during a parent-teacher night that she had heard that Patrick had a hit list in his locker. The baseless rumor was reported to the principal, who authorized a locker search. There was no "hit list," but according to Northbrook attorney Steven Glink, who specializes in school law and has won a number of court victories in "zero tolerance" violations cases, the locker did contain a doodle of a gun, a photo of two swords, an essay defending the right to keep and bear anns, and another writing assignment mentioning weapons. Also included was a question asking what Patrick feared most about growing old. His answer:

"Getting arthritis in my trigger finger."

Following the locker inspection, police searched Patrick's bedroom and found fireworks, some ammunition, and a BB-gun. There were no other guns in the house, yet the youngster was subsequently sentenced in juvenile court to probation and community service for possessing ammunition without a firearm owner's identification card.

School officials also searched files in the school computer used by Patrick. They found that he had visited a number of progun, pro-Second Amendment websites. A print-out of that supposedly suspicious "evidence" was presented at a hearing to determine if Patrick should be permanently expelled. The most disturbing aspect of the proceeding, according to attorney Gunk, was "the way the school ... just jumped all over this kid with no real evidence. Prior to this time, not one person -- no student, or teacher, or parent, nobody -- had ever complained that they were afraid of this kid, or thought he was violent, or anything like that." During the hearing, Glink pointed out that the Palatine High logo shows the school mascot, a pirate, wielding a sword. School officials had nothing to say about the irony.

In the wake of the hearing, Patrick's expulsion was placed on hold, provided that he attend a school for students with emotional and behavioral problems. His parents were incensed by what they perceived as an attempt to stigmatize their son as some sort of unbalanced troublemaker. Patrick began attending the alternative school, but his parents retained attorney Glink and filed suit against the Township High School District.

On February 1, 2002, Cook County Circuit Judge Nancy J. Arnold issued her ruling in the case, describing Patrick's expulsion as "arbitrary," "capricious," and unsupported by the evidence. She held that the school district had failed to prove that he had threatened any students on school grounds, and that "mere possession of literature and photographs dealing with weapons does not rise to the level of an 'act' or 'behavior' proscribed in the school policy" that permits expulsion for "gross misconduct" or "gross disobedience."

Judge Arnold gave the district 30 days to consider her ruling, but on February 7th it threw in the towel and opted to allow Patrick to return to Palatine High. The Chicago Tribune for February 12th reported that while his father, Thomas, "was pleased to see his son return to school without any restrictions," he was considering further legal action since "I do feel his civil rights were violated.... [T]hey took a year of his high school life, and he'll never get that year back."