Summary: L.A. Unified once again fires the lawyer who blamed a student for having sex with a middle school teacher.
Public outcry goes a long way in determining how the law is done. Consider W. Keith Wyatt, who has provided 28 years of “outstanding legal work.” He has nevertheless been fired for the second time by L.A. Unified, and this not for his work for firm Ivie, McNeill & Wyatt, in which he argued and won in court with the argument that the sexual misconduct of a teacher with a 14-year-old girl could not have reasonably been known by the school authorities. Instead, it was his personal comments regarding the case to a local radio station that have drawn fire and inspired public outcry.
“Making a decision as to whether or not to cross the street when traffic is coming, that takes a level of maturity and that’s a much more dangerous decision than to decide, ‘Hey, I want to have sex with my teacher,’” Wyatt said on public radio station KPCC-FM.
See more articles about teachers having sex with students:
- High School Spanish Teacher Accused of Seducing Student at School — Booze, Sexts, and More
- Oregon Teacher Charged for Sex with Multiple Students
- Two Louisiana Teachers Booked for Group Sex with Boy
- English Teacher Brianne Altice Charged with Sexually Abusing 15-Year-Old Student
So, basically, he claimed the 14-year-old girl was at least partially responsible for the sexual misconduct of the teacher involved, former Edison Middle School teacher, Elkis Hermida.
“Under the totality of the circumstances, it’s in the district’s best interests to take this action at this time,” said General Counsel David Holmquist, who had previously defended Wyatt over this issue.
Wyatt himself could not be reached for comment.
This is the second time the school has been pressured by public outcry to drop the attorney. He will not be working with them further, and even his firm is losing four cases, being handled by other lawyers. Whether the school will continue to work with this firm in the future has not yet been decided.
“There’s been a lot of attention surrounding his out-of-court statements, making it increasingly difficult for us to do the work that we do, and to properly represent the district,” Holmquist said.
News Source: LATimes