Supreme Court - Child Rearing?

Question

The Supreme Court recently decided that a mother acted in violation of her daughter's rights when she listened to the phone conversation. In effect, the Court implied that a parent has no right to interfere in the private life of his or her child, regardless of the parent's motives.

What implications might this decision have on child rearing practices in the United States? How might it affect discipline in schoools and other institutions?

Answer 1

Please cite the decision. I suspect that this court, as it is, would not make such a ruling.

Edit: The case is from 2004. It arose out of a purse snatching from 2000. The daughter was talking to the defendant, and the defendant did not say he stole the purse, but did say he hid it. Now, the case is a Washington State Supreme Court, not US Supremes.
The Court cited a state law that protected all calls from ease dropping, and since it did not exclude children, the daughters call was protected. Now, what the mother heard was not admissible against the boy, as he had not agreed to be ease dropped on.

Note also, the law was one upheld by the court, not a creation by the court. It was the legislators who created the law. If the law makers want to exempt the parents, they can do it.

Lastly, it does not take away parental rights, nothing in the ruling would keep the parents from grounding, taking away phone use, etc.

Answer 2

That was the Washington State Supreme Court - not the U.S. Supreme court.

A new law has been introduced, and expected to pass, that definitely excluded minor children from the privacy law that the state of Washington has.

Too bad. If you are a minor, living at home, you don't have any privacy. Your parents are paying the mortagage, buying the food, your clothes, and supporting you. They are also paying the phone bills.

A parent has perfect right to do what is necessary to protect the child....and preventing their child from hanging out with losers and thugs is number one.

Answer 3

parents are not allowed to discipline children anymore but the schools can be run like nazi concentration camps. The schools can tell you when, where, and why you can deal with your kids. They can tell you what they have to wear. But God forbid you question what your child is doing and they act like you have commited cardinal sin. The schools have too much power and they also have immunity(like diplomats) that they can do just about whatever the heck they want. The parents have no rights because of the stupid administrators and school boards going on power kicks. This will have far reacing implications because the kids can do what they want(according to the statement) and the parents have no say in it. That is terrible.

Answer 4

The state law in that matter required the consent of all parties to a conversation, with no exception for parents (unlike the federal wiretapping law). The court declined to make an exception that the state did not include in the law.

I couldn't find any source for this going to the US Supreme Court, only the state (WA) Supreme Court.

Answer 5

I don't know where the Court would find a privacy interest in this, or where the child would have the right to assert a privacy interest. I did a lexis nexis search and came up with nothing. I did not try to hard, but still found nothing matching the search terms Mother & Privacy & Phone in the last 7 years.

Answer 6

In today's world everything is on the side of the child to have "self-empowerment" and it doesn't occur to the nuts who come up with these ideas that a parent could actually have the best interests of her child at heart. Parents don't have any instincts towards protecting their own children? We're just nosey and intrusive?

Answer 7

The child has rights but the parents had also the right to monitor the behavior of their children. This decision while protecting the rights of the children is diminishing the right of the parents to discipline or control their children.

Answer 8

What discipline? There isn't much discipline going on in public schools now. We had to remove our son from public school because the bullying he endured everyday turned to physical violence and still, nothing was done.

They're making it harder and harder for parents to discipline and guide their children, but they are working harder to hold parents responsible for their children's actions.