Jacobs, J. (2010). Teen cyberbullying investigated: where do your rights end and consequences begin? Minneapolis, MN: Free Spirit Publishing, Inc.
ISBN-13: 978-1-57542-339-5
Plot Summary
In this nonfiction resource, Judge Tom Jacobs addresses the common problem of online cyberbullying and cyberharassment among teens. The Introduction explains what cyberbullying is and the many forms it takes and introduces how this book will present real court cases of teens who were harassed or the ones harassing other kids. Part I is Cyberbullying and the Law. These pages discuss the First Amendment, the freedoms it guarantees, and explains the U.S. Court System. It explains how a court’s ruling may be persuasive in other places, but it affects only those within its jurisdiction. A discussion of the rights of minors follows with evidence from Supreme Court cases. Next, there is a discussion of ethics and laws on cyberbullying. Part II is comprised of sixteen chapters. Each chapter is about a recent landmark court case, the act that occurred to create the case, the charge, and a description of the incident and case. After that is a section subtitled, “How Would You Decide This Case?” followed by “What the Court Decided.” The latter section explains the court’s ruling. Next, the section “How Does this Decision Affect You?” provides readers with examples of situations they might be in that resemble the court case and how what they are doing might be wrong. Each chapter provides more examples of the situation with similar court decisions but told in less detail. Each chapter ends with “The Bottom Line” with a brief lesson about what the decision means to the reader as well as an update on the key players in the case and what they are doing now. Finally, each chapter concludes with a section titled “Things to Think About” and further reading and resources.
Critical Evaluation
The information in this book is presented well. The first item the readers see is the Dedication which grabs readers’ attention with the names of victims of cyberbullying. The division of the book into two parts is a logical format. Part I serves as an explanation of terms, examples of cases, and state laws. Part II takes the information in Part I and applies it to the actual court cases. The descriptions of the court cases are interesting and thorough. Some readers might be offended by the content and language in the descriptions and accordingly, there are warnings on the back cover and on the first pages. This language is necessary, however, as it presents cyberbullying in its true form. It is meant to be shocking as that will prove the point of this book. When a reader flips through the pages, he will find pullouts of texts in different fonts to draw attention to significant quotes and passages. Also, at the beginning of each chapter is a visual graphic exemplifying the topic of the court case. For example, Chapter Seven’s topic is “Litigating Lewdness” and its visual graphic is a screen with “Caution: Booty Ahead” written across it. These visuals are certainly eye-catching. This book would have been even better had it included more photographs, but that might not have been possible because of privacy. The different-sized fonts and bulleted lists break up the text into manageable sections to read, but if the type had been more than this one shade of gray, the pages would have been even more visually appealing. Still, the book’s power lies in its detailed accounts of actual court cases of real people and how teens might find themselves in similar situations every day. The lesson readers take away from the book is that they need to be very careful about what the put out there into cyberspace because serious, and sometimes tragic, consequences could result from their actions.
Reader’s Annotation
Updating your Facebook and sending picture texts might be a fun, daily occurrence in your life, but they could have serious consequences. The court cases described in this book will show you how what you do might be considered cyberbullying and how it could affect you and others.
Author Information
Judge Tom Jacobs was an Assistant Attorney General in Arizona from 1972-1985. He practiced child welfare and criminal law there before he was appointed to the Maricopa County Superior Court in 1985. There, he served as a judge and commissioner in juvenile and family courts until he retired in 2008. Judge Jacobs has also taught juvenile law at the Arizona State University School of Social Work. Besides writing for lawyers and judges, he continues to write for teens, parents, and educators on youth justice issues. He also answers readers’ questions at his website AsktheJudge.info.
His website includes links to news releases, books, media coverage, and accolades and testimonials. Readers may ask questions of the judge and his team of experts and receive questions in a blog format. There are podcasts, videos, and lists of other material.
For more information, please visit his website:
Genre
Young adult
Nonfiction
Bullying
Curriculum Ties
First Amendment Rights, communication
Book Talking Ideas
Picture texting, Facebook updates, blogging, bullying
Reading Level/ Interest Age
Appropriate for ages 13 and up
Challenge Issues
language
Challenge Defense
If it were challenged, I would consult ALA's Strategies and Tips for Dealing with Challenges to Library Materials.
I would also cite these reviews:
Booklist 03/01/10
Voice of Youth Advocates (V.O.Y.A.) 08/01/10
School Library Journal 03/01/10
Wilson's Junior High School 10/01/10
Teacher Librarian 02/01/11
Wilson's Senior High School 02/01/11
Why did I include this title?
Cyberbullying is so common that many teens don’t even realize that what they are doing could be considered bullying. Many teens are not aware of their rights or how their actions could affect them. This book is a great source of information about this topic and provides readers with useful knowledge about their First Amendment rights, what it includes and what it doesn’t include, and how they need to think about their actions.
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