San Francisco Injury Lawyer Blog

The JonBenet Ramsey case raises questions about the work history of her alleged killer, Jon Mark Karr. Time CNN appropriately tracks Karr's history as a teacher that spans positions in Northern Caliifronia, Alabama, Bangkok, Netherlands and Honduras.
After reading Time's article one obviously asks how it is that Karr was able to land all of these positions where he was responsible for children. Why is it that so often these predators are able to obtain positions that are a perfect entree to children. The predator, once in such a position of authority, is assumed to be a person who is beyond reproach, is respected and has properly qualified for the position. Presumably this is based not only upon the education and experience of the teacher but also upon high moral standards exhibited at prior positions.

As is apparent in the Karr case, these assumptions by parents, may not always be warranted. Those responsible for hiring as well as those responsible for providing references, sometimes fail to do their job properly. This lack of care is actionable negligence of the worst kind because the lives of children are truly in the balance. Innocent children are set up by those who carelessly fail to track a job applicant and obtain references as well as those that intentionally provide false or misleading references in order to rid themselves of a problem they are well aware of.
The abuse can lead to both physical injury or death, as in JonBenet's case and/or permanent severe emotional scarring.

I was the lawyer representing Randi W., a young grade school girl allegedly molested by her vice principal. The vice principal was recommended for the position by teachers and administrative personnel at schools he had previously worked at. They knew this person had had a checkered history at their respective schools but still wrote glowing letters of reference. The Fresno Superior Court ruled that even false letters of reference could not expose the author or his or her employer to liability. I strongly disagreed and took the case up on appeal.

I saw the case all the way through from the Superior Court in Fresno to the Fifth District Court of Appeal to the California Supreme Court. The Supreme Court unanimously supported our perspective that letters of reference could be relied upon for hiring purposes and that they could be actionable (Randi v Muroc (Word Doc)). This opinion has been one of the most influential decisions of any state Supreme Court in the last decade.

But when a child is injured or molested by an employee, the entire hiring process is subject to scrutiny, just as the issue has surfaced in the JonBenet Ramsey case. In the State of California, the tort of negligent hiring provides recourse for such tragedies.