"Partial Settlement Reached in Pa. 'Sexting' Case"

The title of this post is the headline of this new piece in The Legal Intelligencer, which provides an update on the highest-profile "sexting" case to date. Here is how the piece begins:

One of the high school students at the center of the "sexting" controversy in Wyoming County has agreed to a partial settlement of a civil rights suit that said her constitutional rights were violated when a principal confiscated her cell phone, found nude images she had taken of herself and turned it over to prosecutors.

Under the terms of the settlement, the Tunkhannock Area School District in Northeastern Pennsylvania agreed to pay $33,000, but admitted to no wrongdoing.  However, the plaintiff, who is identified in court papers only as N.N., has not settled her claims against the Wyoming County District Attorney's Office.

As a result, the case will continue and still has the potential to break new legal ground, possibly setting a precedent on the issue of whether students have a right of privacy that extends to the contents of their cell phones.

Some related "sexting" posts:

• Third Circuit upholds bar on sexting prosecution threatened by state DA
• "Student's Privacy Rights Violated in Pa. 'Sexting' Case, ACLU Suit Says"
• The many fascinating legal and social issues swirling around "sexting"
• Federal district judge enjoins controversial state sexting prosecution
• Ohio ACLU writes to local lawmakers and prosecutors about sexting
• "Ohio judge sentences 2 teens for sexting"
• Some of the latest "sexting" news and notes
• Vermont legislature considering "sexting exception" to child porn prohibitions
• Pennsylvania town struggling with a "rash of sexting incidents" 
• Should sexting lead to sex offender registration?