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October 03, 2007

Judge Rules Against Lesbian in High School Outing Case

Judge Rules Against Lesbian in High School Outing Case

According to the Los Angeles Times, a federal judge in Orange County has ruled that Charlene Nguon's rights were not violated when the then-principal of Santiago High School, Ben Wolf, revealed her homosexuality to her mother. The ruling comes 10 months after the trial, at which Nguon claimed she was singled out for hugging and kissing her girlfriend, whereas similar activities among heterosexual couples went unpunished.

In the ruling, U.S. district judge James V. Selna found that while Wolf outed Nguon to her mother, he did so in order to explain why she was being punished. Selna also ruled that the punishment was not motivated by Nguon's sexual orientation. Nguon's attorney, Christine Sun with the ACLU, had argued that there was no reason for Wolf to disclose her sexual orientation to her mother as it had nothing to do with her punishment.

Nguon's attorneys plan to appeal the ruling. They also point out that there was a small victory in the ruling: that school officials do not typically have the right to out a student.

The attorney for the Garden Grove Unified School District said the district would file a motion seeking repayment of legal fees from the plaintiff -- up to $400,000. (The Advocate)

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