12-Year-Old Quebec Girl Sues Dad for Grounding Her…and Wins

QUEBEC, April 9, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A Gatineau father lost an appeal Monday after a lower court ruled last June that he had issued a too severe punishment against his 12-year-old daughter.

The case involves a divorced man who says that in 2008 he caught the girl, over whom he had custody, surfing websites he had forbidden and posting "inappropriate pictures of herself" online. The girl's father told her as a consequence that she would not be allowed to go on her class' graduation trip to Quebec City, even though her mother had already given permission for her to do so.

The girl then contacted a legal-aid lawyer who was involved in the parents' custody battle, who convinced the court to order that the girl be allowed to go on the trip with her class. The father appealed the decision on principle, although his daughter went on the trip in the meantime.

The appeals court reportedly warned in its ruling that the case should not be seen as an open invitation for children to take legal action against their parents when grounded.

Prosecuting attorney Lucie Fortin said that seeking a court order to overturn the father's discipline was a "last resort." "The question was that there was a problem between the father and the mother, and the child asked the court to intervene because it was important to her," she said.

"We went from a child who wanted to live with her father, and after all this has been done, they're not speaking anymore," said defense attorney Kim Beaudoin. "Either way, he doesn't have authority over this child anymore.

"She sued him because she doesn't respect his rules. It's very hard to raise a child who is the boss."

"I wasn't proud to be a Quebecer when I read the ruling. I can't believe we let a child do this," she told Canwest.

Last June Dr. Albert Mohler, president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary of the Southern Baptist Convention, called the initial court decision against the father "another chilling precedent," saying that it was so outrageous that it sounded like a parody.

"This judge needs to be grounded and sent to her room," Mohler said. He pointed out that the rules the girl broke, and which the court has helped her to flout, were put in place for her own protection. Police have identified online dating sites as a common window through which sexual predators gain access to children.

"For years, we have been warned that the courts were poised to usurp parental authority. We have seen chilling judicial precedents and the encroaching reach of bureaucrats and government agents ... Parents are supplanted by professionals who are 'experts' in raising other people's children."

Quebec Judge Overrules Father's Decision to Ground His Sixth-Grade Daughter http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/jun/08062009.html

Thank you for your comment. It’s been several years now and the hurt and pain have been assimilated and accepted. I do feel for anyone whose child puts them through that kind of mental torture though.

Strangely enough some of his friends are now parents and they are doing everything they can to be good parents and to not let their children become “masters of the roost”. They are now finding out how much the school system tries to undermine their authority. So in many ways I hold out hope for the country’s future.

You don’t know how sad that really makes me. In court, even though at times I tend to be cynical I try to bury that and look objectively at the kid at the bench. Many times, truth be known, the caring, concerned, hearts-in-their-throat parents are in the courtroom also and come to the bench beside their wayward son or daughter, hurting, confused, exasperated beyond comprehension. You can tell the anguish of caring parents who have tried everything possible (I’ve been there, done that too).

My judge allows me to speak with these kids, not in front of the court but after their punishment has been assessed) and so what I try to do is reinforce what I believe to be the parent’s efforts.

I am seeing an increasing number (not the ones with parents) of “throw away” kids come before the court, wards of the “state”, bootcamp, etc. I also have known some counselors who spend mega-time with these kids trying to have some sort of impact on them, not in the liberal “warm and fuzzy” way but with both feet firmly planted, grounded in common sense. I have seen counselors of these “throw away” kids literally in tears (yes, men too—maybe moreso), frustrated and anguished over all their efforts apparently going for naught.

Oh Lord, please forgive me, my former response was made during a moment of cynicism which occurred after yesterday when I had to handcuff a tiny 13 yr. old boy in court (judge’s orders) until he settled down. Everyone was reaching out to him and he didn’t seem to give a hoot.

May God bless and comfort you but in another way, you’ve bolstered me up and so will keep trying again, and again, and again, there are no “throw aways”, at least that is the thing we must hold on to.

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