My daughter has experienced an alarming amount of bullying since she's been in the Red Wing public school district. As many people know, we currently have a pending complaint with the Minnesota Department of Human Rights. While we wait for their investigation, we've continued to face other incidents. In December, while leaving school, another student who had been picking on her started throwing snowballs and attacked her after school. My daughter admitted to chasing after him after he threw the first snowball, swearing at him, and trying to kick him off of her, but everything she did was in self-defense. The other student has already had court, pled guilty, and admitted to throwing the first snowball. According to the police report, he was standing over her, holding her hands, and dropping snow on her face. Despite all this, my daughter is charged with disorderly conduct.
We've been told that because there is no threat to incarceration, she would not be provided a public defender. Unfortunately, we cannot afford a lawyer at this point. One attorney quoted a fee to take the case for just one day, which is not doable for us. However, I was able to reach out to another lawyer who said we could probably handle the case ourselves, but they were willing to give us a consultation beforehand to provide legal advice. The consultation has specific fees depending on the length of time, and I want to be transparent that any funds raised will go directly toward covering this consultation. Although I feel confident that my 11-year-old will be able to handle court, it's still very intimidating, and it would mean so much to have this consultation beforehand.
Right now, I feel desperate as a mother to protect my child, but I've been told that I cannot go into the courthouse to defend her and that she has to do this herself. Being able to afford this consultation without putting a strain on our already tight financial budget, and being able to go into the courtroom knowing that we are fully prepared as best as can be, would give me peace of mind. That would mean the world to me as a mom. I am reaching out to our community and my daughter's supporters, hoping that some might be willing to pitch in so we can afford this consultation and help her feel supported and prepared. I want everyone to know that this fundraiser is strictly for the consultation fees, and I am not doing this to make extra money to pocket.