Heritage v. Dodge
Supreme Court of New Hampshire
Trespass, for assault and battery. Plea, the general issue, with a brief statement that the defendant was teacher of a public school in which the plaintiff was a scholar, and that the assault and battery complained of was the infliction of reasonable punishment of the plaintiff for disrespectful conduct and violation of the regulations of the school.
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Trespass, for assault and battery. Plea, the general issue, with a brief statement that the defendant was teacher of a public school in which the plaintiff was a scholar, and that the assault and battery complained of was the infliction of reasonable punishment of the plaintiff for disrespectful conduct and violation of the regulations of the school. The evidence tended to show that some of the scholars had a practice of coughing and making noises resembling coughing for the purpose of attracting attention, which disturbed the order and quiet of the school. The defendant requested that the…
1Opinion of the CourtSmith, J.
The instructions requested made the defendant liable, without regard to the fact whether he exercised reasonable judgment and discretion in determining whether the plaintiff was guilty of intentional misconduct as a scholar. The law clothes the teacher, as it does the parent in whose place he stands, with power to enforce discipline by the imposition of reasonable corporal punishment. 1 Blk. Com. 453; 2 Kent Com. 205; Reeve Dom. Rel. 288, 289, 375. He is not required to be infallible in his judgment. He is the judge to determine when and to what extent correction is necessary; and like all…
2Cases cited1 opinion
- Lander v. SeaverSupreme Court of Vermont · 1859
3Cited by3 opinions
- People v. CurtissAppellate Division of the Superior Court of California · 1931
- Wilbur v. BerrySupreme Court of New Hampshire · 1902
- People v. BallAppellate Court of Illinois · 1973