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I would love to take the police brutality case in St. Louis. Please
give me some facts. I have a colleague that can sponsor a pro hoc petition for
me. This would be a contingency case. The victim will not have to pay until
we collect. With respect to the email this morning, it is just an FYI. You
will also receive a letter on Monday which is essentially the same thing. I
will let you know if I need your heavy artillery. From: Abed Ayoub
[mailto:abedayoub@gmail.com] This is very troubling. Please let me know how ADC can
help. I am willing to send a letter of support early next week, hopefully by Monday afternoon. Let me know
what you think. I have a case out of the St. Louis region involving serious police brutality. Do you
know of an attorney in the area that could pick up the case? I want to find someone for the family ASAP. Thanks, -Abed 2010/5/14 Haytham Faraj <haytham@puckettfaraj.com> Mr.
Tim Green Dean
of Students Conrady
Junior High School 7825
West 103rd Street Palos
Hills, IL 60465 Dear
Dean Green: I
have been retained as counsel by the Abu Hayyeh family to assist them in the
matter of their son Ismail Abu Hayyeh. Ismail is a student at your
school. As you are well aware you have suspended Ismail on five different
occasions for incidents involving altercations with other students. I
have interviewed Ismail to understand the facts. I have also discussed
the matter with Ismailâs parents. According to Ismail and his parents
âwho were briefed by you- all the altercations except one, were initiated by
other kids who initially made racist or hateful comments to Ismail because he
is an Arab and Muslim. On one occasion a fight ensued after a boy pulled
Ismailâs pants down in a locker room. That incident did not involve
racist on hateful comments. Nonetheless, on all occasions you decided to
suspend Ismail from the school. I recognize that you must be busy and
that you have a school to run. It is unconscionable, however, that in
2010 we continue to allow racist as well as ethnically and religiously hateful
comments to go unpunished in our schools. What is more troubling is that
you endorse the racist speech by failing to punish it based on a specious
policy that suspends the victim if the response to the hateful speech is
physical. A policy that suspends a child who becomes angry at being
called a âterroristâ and who defends himself when another boy assaults him by
pulling down his pants is no policy at all. It ignores the aggressor and punishes
the victim. When
one person, without consent or a valid reason, attempts âby force- to remove
the pants of another, it is an assault and battery and perhaps even an
attempted sexual assault. By suspending Ismail, the victim, you endorsed
the conduct. Instead of protecting the victim and punching the aggressor,
you punished the victim for defending himself. What would your decision
have been if the victim were a girl at your school? Ismail is no less a
victim because he is a boy than if he were a girl. Likewise,
if the racially offensive language directed at Ismail were racially offensive
language directed at an African-American child, I am certain that you would not
have suspended the African-American child for responding, even if that response
were physical. Yet, in Ismailâs case, you chose to suspend him because he
behaved like a child who had been gravely hurt by hateful speech. Perhaps
Ismail becomes enraged at the hate he must suffer at your school because of your
inaction or, more specifically, your dubious policy that protects the racist
speech while victimizing the victim by suspending him from the school. The
Abu Hayyeh family corresponded with you a few months ago regarding this matter.
Their correspondence went unanswered. I hope you will give this
email its due attention. On behalf of the family I request the
following: 1.
A meeting with you and members of your District 117 Board of
Education to address this matter. 2.
A review of your policy that suspends victims of aggressive or racist
behavior who exercise their right to self defense. 3.
A review of Ismail Abu Hayyehâs record and a reconsideration of your
suspension decisions to expunge the record of any suspensions that resulted
from Ismailâs response to hateful speech or through the exercise of his right
to self defense. I
will follow up this email with a letter to your office, the members of the
District 117 Board of Education as well as courtesy copies to the Department of
Education, Office of Civil Rights, the American Civil Liberties Union and the
American-Arab Anti Discrimination Committee. It is not my intent to enter
into litigation. That would not serve Ismailâs interests nor the
interests of the children at your school. It is my intent, however, to
persuade you to change your policies that coddle racism and hateful
speech. Such a policy change would be in the best interests of all the
children at your school, including Ismail. To that end, I am prepared to
undertake all means available to protect Ismail and other children at Conrady
Junior High School from suffering racist actions and speech. Sincerely, Haytham Faraj, Esq. PUCKETT & FARAJ, PC WASHINGTON DC× SAN DIEGO × DEARBORN 888.970.0005 Toll Free 760-521-7934 Direct Line 202.280.1039 Fax The information contained in this electronic
message is confidential, and is intended for the use of the individual or
entity named above. If you are not the intended recipient of this message, you
are hereby notified that any use, distribution, copying of disclosure of this
communication is strictly prohibited. If you received this communication in
error, please notify Puckett & Faraj, P.C. at 888-970-0005 or via a return
the e-mail to sender. You are required to purge this E-mail
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