Fox News Night Court: 15-year-old Sent to Juvenile Detention for Allegedly Not Doing Online Schoolwork

July 17, 2020. In this episode of Night Court on Fox News, Bob Bianchi was brought on to discuss the case of a Michigan teenager who was sent to juvenile detention as a result of a probation violation directly tied to incomplete online schoolwork.

The judge, in this case, stated that they had warned the teenager that they would follow through with the jail sentence if she did not get her act together in regard to her probation requirements. The probation was the result of separate assault charges and required, among other things, that the teen complete her online coursework and not abuse the use of a school-provided computer.

Alex Swoyer points out that the judge likely felt there was no other choice given the nature of the teen’s prior crimes and her lack of effort in fulfilling her probation order. However, Bianchi notes that the violation of probation filing took place based on a comment made by the child’s mother and without any questioning of her teachers. The teachers have since stated that she was, in fact, performing her work well and should not have been turned in for violating based on lack of work.

Bianchi goes on to say that this teenaged girl is essentially being jailed for her disability (ADHD diagnosis) and the inability of the caseworker to fully investigate a claim before filing a probation violation with the court. Protests have been held in an attempt to get the girl freed.