Based on true events, this 2006 made-for-TV movie depicted the circumstances involving the five day suspension of a 15-year-old Union Intermediate High student, Brandi Blackbear. According to Blackbear and the ACLU, the school accused the teen of witchcraft, stating she "hexed" her ceramics teacher, who was later hospitalized for an emergency appendectomy. However, Cathy Burden, the district's superintendent, stated, "The school does not suspend students for religious views, jewelry or tattoos", but declined to discuss any specific information pertaining to the suspension.

According to Wikipedia (although I could not locate a source), the assigned judge eventually dismissed the charges. Without sources, I am unable to determine fact from fiction, regarding the validity of claims made by both parties. However, I think such events and exposure only cement the national and worldwide perception of Oklahoma being some backwards state of intolerance. Even if the charges were falsehoods, Oklahoma's image took a blow, similar to the attention were presently receiving, thanks to Sally Kern.

For the life of me, I cannot remember these events. I was 18-years-old during the course of legal action, but I really don't remember hearing or reading anything about this case. How many of you remember the case? Mallen/Mid/Doug, do any of you care to lend your opinion regarding the case and its circumstances? Regardless of its disposition, this is an interesting topic I would like to learn more about. It's not too often lawsuits are filed for suspensions because of "witchcraft".

American Civil Liberties Union : ACLU of Oklahoma Files Federal Lawsuit on Behalf of Student Accused of "Hexing" a Teacher (http://www.aclu.org/religion/schools/16295prs20001026.html)

Witch Is It? : People.com (http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20133065,00.html)

Not Like Everyone Else - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Not_Like_Everyone_Else)

Not Like Everyone Else (2006) (TV) (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0787498/)
The movie is rated a 6.8/10 on IMDB.

The author of bubbaworld.com must have loved this case. (Eleven years of telling like it is in Oklahoma.) But I don't think it received anywhere near the attention to the outside world that Sally Kern got.

I could argue this either way, but to know for sure whether the school did anything wrong, I'd definitely need more information -- all of which would probably vary greatly on either side of the 'v.'

I do think the fact that the case was dismissed by the trial court suggests that the trial court felt that the school did what was reasonably necessary to maintain order and discipline in the school and that Blackbear had actually cast this 'hex' on the teacher -- an outright defiant act. But that's speculative on my part.

Also, keep in the mind that this was all in the wake of Columbine. Context is important because schools tend to overreact to things in the media ridiculously.

When one of my girls was in highschool in '97 (96?), they passed a policy that students could not wear pentagrams although crosses were allowed. She refused to sign that she agreed to abide by the policy (not that she wore pentagrams but that was clearly an infringment on speech, perhaps religion, based on content). Suspension was brought up as a possibility and she explained that it wasn't constitutional. She was a merit scholar and very nice student. Regardless, they explained they have to suspend her. I grudgingly got involved. Without much fuss (my involvement amounted to not much more than raising an eyebrow and suggesting they check with counsel). The policy was promptly changed and nothing beyond that came of it.

When one of my girls was in highschool in '97 (96?), they passed a policy that students could not wear pentagrams although crosses were allowed. She refused to sign that she agreed to abide by the policy (not that she wore pentagrams but that was clearly an infringment on speech, perhaps religion, based on content). Suspension was brought up as a possibility and she explained that it wasn't constitutional. She was a merit scholar and very nice student. Regardless, they explained they have to suspend her. I grudgingly got involved. Without much fuss (my involvement amounted to not much more than raising an eyebrow and suggesting they check with counsel). The policy was promptly changed and nothing beyond that came of it.I can't believe you only raised an eyebrow followed by a simple suggestion that they should seek counsel. If I would have been in your shoes I would have made it clear I was an attorney and fixing to sue the crap out of them.

I can't believe you only raised an eyebrow followed by a simple suggestion that they should seek counsel. If I would have been in your shoes I would have made it clear I was an attorney and fixing to sue the crap out of them.

Not my style.

I also had very, very good kids and making an ass of myself would have done nothing but cause them difficulties. Moreover, there was plenty of time to be an ass and hard core if it came to that. I always try to let someone fix a problem before ratcheting it up. You never lose anything by trying to communicate, first. Too many people want to scream lawsuit at the drop of a hat. By being a threatening jerk, people focus on personalities instead of recognizing and correcting a problem. A soft beginning is one of the strongest tools in any lawyer's arsenal and fixing problems is what lawyers are supposed to do. There is a very powerful point in time when things are going legally wrong where you might be able to correct the problem by sharing information and not solidifying opposing positions. The law is a very poor substitute for most problems and should be a last resort. Once that train as left the station, things go south in a hurry. Someone once called me the smiling assassin and that has served me very well.

All I wanted was the problem fixed. A lot of people want to win the lawsuit lottery but they don't realize how it takes over your life and how utterly hellish lawsuits can be, And it goes on for years. No way would I want my family involved in something like that or put my daughter through it if a simple conversation would correct the problem. She'd just be the kid who was suing the school over witchcraft or some such nonsense. We've got better ways to spend our lives. She (and her siblings) is now a lawyer, btw.