News Photo by Julie Riddle Judge Aaron Gauthier, left, speaks to defense attorney Daren Wiseley, seated at left, and client Erin Chaskey and Presque Isle County Prosecutor Ken Radzibon in the 53rd Circuit Court on Monday.

ROGERS CITY — Prosecutors did not prove a parent caught on surveillance video listening to and recording a conversation between school administrators was breaking a law, a judge declared on Monday.

Judge Aaron Gauthier the Presque Isle County’s 53rd Circuit Court dismissed a criminal eavesdropping charge against Erin Chaskey, an Onaway Area Community School District parent.

Police arrested Chaskey after school officials discovered her standing in a school office in October as then-superintendent Rod Fullerton talked to school board member Michael Benson in Fullerton’s office at the end of a school day.

Chaskey recorded the conversation — which she said included comments about her opposition to school policies — on her phone. A surveillance camera in the school office recorded her actions but did not capture several moments when she left the video’s frame.

The prosecution never proved that Chaskey left the main school office, Gauthier said – a point he considered crucial to his decision.

For a legal charge of eavesdropping to stick, the people conversing must have a reasonable expectation of privacy, Gauthier said.

In an office within earshot of a room commonly used by the public, and with the office door open, Fullerton and Benson should have expected their words could be overheard, the judge said.

Had Chaskey walked down the hallway and stood outside the administrator’s door to record the conversation, she would have violated the state’s eavesdropping statute, defense attorney Daren Wiseley agreed.

Wiseley contended in his arguments that, in recording the school officials, Chaskey had served the public by providing a way for other members of the community to gain inside knowledge about decisions and attitudes among school leaders.

He accused the school district of acting vindictively by bringing the matter to police attention.

Police arrested Chaskey on the eavesdropping charges shortly after she filed a lawsuit against the school district, stating the district had treated her unfairly by barring her from school property after the alleged eavesdropping incident.

School district representatives say they were never served with those lawsuit documents. Wiseley has since asked the courts to dismiss the suit.

Wiseley’s contention raised a “frankly, interesting question” about the case, “in which a citizen is seeking to hold a governmental agent accountable, and the government then comes after the citizen,” Gauthier said.

Courts only address constitutional questions when they must, he said, declining to comment on the accusation of vindictiveness and dismissing the eavesdropping charge.

Julie Riddle can be reached at 989-358-5693 or jriddle@thealpenanews.com. Follow her on Twitter @jriddleX.