Re: College Student - April Fools Prank - Impersonation
I already know that I am not the brightest bulb in the chandelier when it comes to ALL the states' laws. And I don't intend to take the bar exam with what I learn here (which is much). I'm just trying to answer the OP in a way that doesn't make them feel worse than the did before they came here unless they deserve it. And I don't think this OP deserves it.
Re: College Student - April Fools Prank - Impersonation
Answering her accurately is more important. It does very little good for you to answer a poster in a way that makes them feel better if the answer you give them is misleading or even wrong.
Re: College Student - April Fools Prank - Impersonation
One more thing, the friend that I sent the email to knew that it wasn't from the teacher. He was concerned all day about which one of his friends did it. This seems important to me.
Re: College Student - April Fools Prank - Impersonation
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sfox724
I am in Mississippi.
Then Mr. K's post is applicable
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sfox724
So I guess she could press charges against me from what I have learned here. Thank you.
Depending on how far she has gone with this it may be out of her hands, she does not decide ultimately what charges will be filed, the DA does.
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sfox724
Is it bad that I did not go to the police department and give them a statement?
No, in the grand scheme of things it likely won't make a difference as your apology was an admission of guilt. As a general rule you don't want to make statements to anyone without your lawyer present, however in this situation I can't say I disagree with your decision to write the apology note.
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sfox724
Also, would it be likely that she'd tell me if she was pressing charges in her last email to me? Or would it benefit her somehow to not disclose that to me.
We can't say if it would be likely or not. If the schools legal team is involved they likely would tell her not to discuss it with you.
As I said in my first post we aren't trying to scare you but we want to be honest. I could see a situation where charges are pursued, I can't say that I would agree with it but it could happen. You have two separate issues in front of you, the first is the potential legal issue, I would bet that no charges are ever filed but you are better off safe than sorry, find a lawyer who offers free consultations and keep their number with you. You may not (probably wont) have to use it but it is a good idea to be prepared.
The second issue is the school disciplinary issue, they are welcome to take many different approaches, hopefully cool heads prevail and the punishment is little to none. You made a mistake, you acknowledged that mistake, and you apologized for it. With a great record behind you I would not expect any dramatic consequences, however Academia is notorious for being full of people with a lot of pride and huge egos, if some one decides they want to make an example out of you then you may have to deal with that. Be prerpared to be slapped with something like disciplinary probation from the school , if they were to assign a punishment that doesn't seem just and would risk your graduation then be ready to appeal, all schools have an appeal process, but you often must adhear to strict deadlines.
Best of luck, every one makes mistakes, hopefully everyone can be level headed in dealing with yours.
Re: College Student - April Fools Prank - Impersonation
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cbg
Answering her accurately is more important. It does very little good for you to answer a poster in a way that makes them feel better if the answer you give them is misleading or even wrong.
I will keep that in mind for future posts.
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sfox724
One more thing, the friend that I sent the email to knew that it wasn't from the teacher. He was concerned all day about which one of his friends did it. This seems important to me.
The fact that he went to the teacher to ask about the award is going to make this hard to believe if it ever makes it to the point where this is relevant.
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budwad
If you were a prosecutor, would you prosecute this case? Or are we just debating the letter of the law?
No, I wouldn't, but I am not the prosecutor who would be handling the case and that prosecutor is free do prosecute to the letter of the law.
Re: College Student - April Fools Prank - Impersonation
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sfox724
Is it bad that I did not go to the police department and give them a statement? Also, would it be likely that she'd tell me if she was pressing charges in her last email to me? Or would it benefit her somehow to not disclose that to me. (The last email was telling me how she and the university higher ups would respond to the issue.)
I don't think it's bad that you disclosed what happened. As the police were involved, there's a good chance they would have tracked it to you anyway, and if you had been avoiding them or (gasp) had lied to them they would be likely to infer a nefarious motive. There's a good chance that they'll accept that it was a joke gone wrong, such that they won't proceed with it as a criminal matter, although that would leave the issue of the university's code of conduct.
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cbg
Answering her accurately is more important. It does very little good for you to answer a poster in a way that makes them feel better if the answer you give them is misleading or even wrong.
And that is the gist of things. Some people get bent out of shape when they are corrected about the law, but one of the most important things we can do here is be correct about the law. As I stated, whether or not charges might follow is a separate issue. We can acknowledge the actual law while still commenting on the probability of charges.
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sfox724
One more thing, the friend that I sent the email to knew that it wasn't from the teacher. He was concerned all day about which one of his friends did it. This seems important to me.
Did he tell the instructor, "I know this wasn't from you, and I think it was a friend playing a joke?" It sounds like he suggested to the instructor that he believed the email was real.