Judge dismisses eavesdropping charge against Up North mom who challenged school officials
Paul EganA judge has dismissed a rarely used felony eavesdropping charge brought against a northern Michigan mom who was battling her school board over curriculum issues.
Presque Isle County Circuit Court Judge Aaron Gauthier said there is no evidence Erin Chaskey was in a non-public area of her son's school when she used her iPhone to record a conversation the superintendent was having with a school board member, inside his office with the door open.
"They did not close the door," Gauthier said Monday, in dismissing the charge. Chaskey was standing in a reception area about 10 feet away from the office and "they should know that people come and go there."
Chaskey, 37, faced up to two years in prison in the case after Chief District Judge Maria Barton of 89th District Court in Rogers City bound her over for trial in December, following a preliminary hearing.
First reported by the Free Press, the case arises from a skirmish in the classroom culture wars taking place across Michigan and the nation. Chaskey, a self-described conservative who had been trying to get the board to rein in or remove a high school civics teacher she believes is too liberal, told the Free Press she began recording the conversation after overhearing two school officials talking about her.
Soon after a sheriff's deputy with a search warrant seized her phone.
"This vindictive prosecution was a wrongful and retaliatory effort to silence Erin," said Daren Wiseley, Chaskey's Hillsdale attorney.
Presque Isle County Prosecutor Kenneth Radzibon could not be reached for comment late Tuesday.
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At the time she made the recording last October, Chaskey's 15-year-old son was a sophomore at Onaway High School, though he was not a student in the class of veteran teacher Kymberli Wregglesworth. Among other complaints, Chaskey has objected to books related to systemic racism that Wregglesworth sought to include in her lessons and an alleged remark in which she told a student his "white privilege" was showing.
Barton noted that the school superintendent's office was not a place freely accessible to the public. But Gauthier said instead of focusing on where the conversation was held, the district court judge should have focused on where it could be heard.
"A private conversation does not include a conversation to which the public has access," Gauthier said.
He noted Chaskey heard the conversation without using an amplifying device such as a parabolic microphone or a recording device hidden inside the office.
Gauthier said Wiseley also raised "interesting constitutional questions" about whether the charges were a response to Chaskey attempting to "hold government accountable." But he said he did not need to explore those issues in order to decide the case and would not do so, in the interest of "judicial restraint."
Chaskey, who was active in her children's school sports and other school events, said earlier the worst part of the charge was being temporarily banned from school property.
Wiseley said Chaskey showed courage and character in fighting the charge. "Many would have simply accepted a plea and gotten it over with," he said.
Contact Paul Egan: 517-372-8660 or pegan@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @paulegan4. Read more on Michigan politics and sign up for our elections newsletter.