Columbia student files suit to void law used to arrest her

A Columbia student arrested after filming a white sheriff’s deputy tossing an African-American girl from her desk is challenging South Carolina’s “disturbing schools” law in federal court.

The suit alleges that law, which critics say unfairly criminalizes students’ actions, is unconstitutional.

The American Civil Liberties Union of South Carolina filed the suit Thursday in the U.S. District Court in Charleston.

The complaint, filed on behalf of former Spring Valley High School student Niya Kenny and others, alleges the S.C. law has overly broad language that has been used “to draw thousands of adolescents into the juvenile and criminal justice systems.”

The law is “far-reaching and nebulous” allowing students to be charged for behaviors including “loitering, cursing, or undefined ‘obnoxious’ actions on school grounds,” the advocacy group said in a news release.

The lawsuit names as defendants S.C. Attorney General Alan Wilson and 13 heads of law enforcement agencies across the state, including Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott and Columbia Police Chief Skip Holbrook.

The ACLU said it found hundreds of students, some as young as 7 years old, have been charged under the law. The lawsuit says the state’s disturbing schools law disproportionately impacts African-American students and continues to be a top reason students are referred to the juvenile justice system.

Kenny was arrested at Spring Valley High School in October for filming an incident between Richland County sheriff’s deputy Ben Fields and another student. Video of the incident went viral online, sparking a debate about the S.C. law and the role of police officers in the classroom.

Other parties suing with Kenny, according to the ACLU, include Benedict College student Taurean Nesmith. The 21-year-old was arrested “because he criticized a police officer for racial profiling during the stop of a fellow student,” the advocacy group says.

Other plaintiffs are:

▪  A 15-year-old Greenville County student with behavioral and emotional disabilities identified as “S.P.” As a freshman, the student was “charged with a crime after failing to comply with instructions to leave the library and cursing at a student who was making fun of her,” the ACLU said.

▪  A 17-year-old African-American student from Charleston identified as “D.S.” The student was charged with disturbing schools “after a minor physical altercation,” which “led her into the adult criminal justice system” and put her at “risk of detention for inability to pay fines and fees.”

▪  Girls Rock Charleston, a nonprofit organization that provides an after-school program for youth who are at risk or have been involved in the criminal justice system.

The lawsuit comes about a month before Kenny is scheduled to have a court hearing on the charges against her. She and the girl thrown from her desk were arrested and charged with disturbing schools.

Check back for details on this developing story.

This story was originally published August 11, 2016 at 3:45 PM with the headline "Columbia student files suit to void law used to arrest her."