A recent Hartford Courant article reported that a federal judge ruled against a grandmother seeking damages because her civil rights were violated when she was arrested for sending her grandchildren to a school in a town where they did not reside. The grandmother’s lawyer claimed that her equal protection rights were violated because she was singled out for the arrest. The school district argued that there was a “rational basis” for treating others who had committed the same offense differently. The grandmother may appeal the case, the lawyer stated.
Under a newly enacted Connecticut law taking effect October 1, 2013, such an offense will no longer constitute larceny (PA 13-211). By law, a person generally commits larceny when he or she wrongfully takes, obtains, or withholds, among other things, services from an owner. The new law excludes from the definition of “services” school accommodations school districts provide to (1) a child, (2) an emancipated minor, or (3) a student who is at least 18 years old and homeless. Thus, no one who wrongfully takes such services will be guilty of larceny under that law.
