By Jodi Hausen,Staff Writer

SKOWHEGAN – A Superior Court justice has overturned the suspension of a Mt. Blue High School senior, saying he should not be punished for unknowingly violating the school’s gun policy.

Justice Joseph Jabar had issued a temporary stay on the New Vineyard student’s suspension, returning him to school April 11, after his parents filed an appeal.

On Tuesday, Jabar overturned the SAD 9 school board decision imposing a 30-day suspension on senior Sheldon Allen, 18, after a handgun was discovered in a pickup truck he had borrowed and driven to school in late March.

The .25-caliber handgun belonged to the vehicle’s owner and was found under a pile of trash in the truck during an unrelated search while it was parked on school grounds.

Allen was suspended by the school board even though he testified he had no knowledge that the gun was in the truck.

Allen said after the hearing Tuesday that he did not have “the tiniest harsh feelings against the board.”

“The school board is there to protect the people,” he said, adding that he was glad the board took the issue seriously.

Allen was not previously identified in the Sun Journal because police had identified him as a juvenile.

“I don’t feel I did anything wrong,” he said. He said he was glad to be returning to school with his peers and would be able to walk down the aisle and graduate.

Jabar ordered Allen’s record wiped clean, thereby eliminating any effect on his acceptance to the Maine Maritime Academy in Castine, where Allen intends to continue his education.

At issue was the school board’s interpretation of the school policy handbook.

According to minutes of the board’s expulsion hearing, members conceded that Allen did not knowingly possess the firearm as defined in the Gun-Free Schools Act of 1994 and was, therefore, not necessarily subject to expulsion under the federal law. Instead, they suspended the senior.

Attorney Walter Hanstein, arguing for Allen, called the board’s actions “an abuse of discretion,” saying the law does not support their decision.

Attorney Erving Snyder, representing the school board, argued the board simply interpreted its own policy and its actions did not result in “irreparable harm” to Allen.

“Where does irreparable harm come into the equation?” asked Jabar.

Snyder also argued the difference between “bringing” a weapon to school and knowingly possessing a weapon. Though the section on weapons in the policy handbook specifies possession, disciplinary policy uses the term “bringing a firearm to school.”

He noted, too, that Allen had driven the borrowed vehicle to school six times before the gun was discovered.

However, when questioned by Jabar about the board’s findings, Snyder admitted they “could have been more expansive” to explain why they choose to impose an additional 20 days to the student’s 10-day initial suspension.

“Let’s talk about fairness,” Jabar said.

In delivering his ruling after a 10-minute break in proceedings, Jabar said, “Even an individual responsible for the most heinous crime” is found innocent when it is determined the crime was committed unknowingly.

It comes down to fundamental fairness and due process, he said, and it makes no sense to punish Allen for something he didn’t know he was doing.

The policy, he said, is unclear.

School board member Susan Black, who voted to suspend Allen in the 9-4 board vote, said the board took the suspension hearing seriously.

“It was a really intense hearing,” she said.

“Personally, I felt it was needed,” she added, saying she did not want to set a precedent of leniency when it came to such serious matters as firearms.

Jabar said he understood the school’s concern with firearms on school grounds.

“We live in a dangerous and difficult time,” he said, “but we cannot overreact because of fears and we cannot punish because we’re afraid.”

Jabar heard the appeal in Somerset Superior Court because the case could be heard soonest there. The case might have languished for weeks waiting for a spot on the Franklin County Superior Court docket, according to an official.