"I think what you went through was unfortunate... Glad you got vindicated." -Editor, Shepherd Express Read More Press
Who Justin Is
Justin's Life
Justin Beaton is a friendly, family-oriented, and law-abiding husband, future father, son, brother, and uncle. He has a B.A. in English, he is very involved with his wife and his families and their church, and, most of all, he is a Christian who loves the Lord. You can also find out more about him on his website.
Justin Beaton is a friendly, family-oriented, and law-abiding husband, future father, son, brother, and uncle. He has a B.A. in English, he is very involved with his wife and his families and their church, and, most of all, he is a Christian who loves the Lord. You can also find out more about him on his website.
During the 2015–2016 school year, Justin Beaton—now married with a family—was a young guy taking periodic substitute jobs at high schools in Racine, WI. He was friends with and well-liked by many staff and students and was the subject of regularcomments and serious propositionsfrom girls—many of whom were mature and already dated guys in their twenties. He got involved with two different young women—both just shy of 18— “Girl 1” and “Girl 2” (hanging out at separate times and making out). They were friends, all interactions and interest was mutual, he took responsibility before the case even happened, and he was ultimately sentenced to three years of probation for the encounters—his one and only case ever. You can read his statement on everything here.
Public Mischaracterizations
Later detailed by “Girl 1,” the police report contained discrepancies that were uncritically broadcast in the news. Regarding a racy social media photo (“harmful material”) that was represented assupposedly having criminally “harmed” her, “Girl 3” said Justin did nothing to her and dismissed the police report’s narrative of events. Contrary to the public narrative at the time, all interactions were mutual and devoid of any nonmutual “predatory” element, Justin maintained subsequent physical boundaries, and he was not at school “enticing” girls. His attorney initially called the charges “ridiculous” due to the girl’s ages and level of sophistication, and “Girl 1” herself reiterated to Justin years later how the public narrative wasn’t accurate to reality.
Justin circa 2016
Backstory
What Happened
During the 2015–2016 school year, Justin Beaton—now married with a family—was a young guy taking periodic substitute jobs at high schools in Racine, WI. He was friends with and well-liked by many staff and students and was the subject of regularcomments and serious propositionsfrom girls—many of whom were matureand already dated guys in their twenties. He got involved with two different young women—both just shy of 18— “Girl 1” and “Girl 2” (hanging out at separate times and making out). They were friends, all interactions and interest was mutual, he took responsibility before the case even happened, and he was ultimately sentenced to three years of probation for the encounters—his one and only case ever. You can read his statement on everything here.
Public Mischaracterizations
Later detailed by “Girl 1,” the police report contained discrepancies that were uncritically broadcast in the news. Regarding a racy social media photo (“harmful material”) that was represented assupposedly having criminally “harmed” her, “Girl 3” said Justin did nothing to her and dismissed the police report’s narrative of events. Contrary to the public narrative at the time, all interactions were mutual and devoid of any nonmutual “predatory” element, Justin maintained subsequent physical boundaries, and he was not at school “enticing” girls. His attorney initially called the charges “ridiculous” due to the girl’s ages and level of sophistication, and “Girl 1” herself reiterated to Justin years later how the public narrative wasn’t accurate to reality.
Justin circa 2016
More photos of Justin circa 2016
The Facts Finally Emerge
Media Content Removed
All 22 media outlets that covered the case in any capacity were respectfully approached and shown evidence of the accurate narrative of events that was already confirmed by a private investigator. By God’s grace, and despite a statistically improbable 1% chance, 17 of them (including large news outlets like FOX6, TMJ4, and Yahoo! News) compassionately removed their content. TMJ4 even launched an initiative in 2022 called “Moving Forward” that allows the subjects of outdated or inaccurate news stories the opportunity to have them removed. Justin also received support from some of the original journalists who authored some of the remaining news reports.
All 22 media outlets that covered the case in any capacity were respectfully approached and shown evidence of the accurate narrative of events that was already confirmed by a private investigator. By God’s grace, and despite a statistically improbable 1% chance, 17 of them (including large news outlets like FOX6, TMJ4, and Yahoo! News) compassionately removed their content. TMJ4 even launched an initiative in 2022 called “Moving Forward” that allows the subjects of outdated or inaccurate news stories the opportunity to have them removed. Justin also received support from some of the original journalists who authored some of the remaining news reports.
Despite much evidence to the contrary, despite Justin’s case being long outdated and irrelevant, despite 17 of their industry colleagues already removing the exact same content, and despite meaningful letters from his doctor, wife, and boss, Justin’s attorney and his multiple respectful requests to the remaining news outlets for content removal and a fresh start for him and his family were unsuccessful.
Legal Action
Legal action commenced with this cease and desist letter. In Circuit Court, the judge denied a “nothing published was false” defense and confirmed that the public narrative was indeed in dispute. Despite this, however, and despite the fact that all that should matter in journalism is what’s actually true or false, it was still argued that what was true or false was not relevant—which was disheartening.
Update
Article Removal Efforts
Despite much evidence to the contrary, despite Justin’s case being long outdated and irrelevant, despite 17 of their industry colleagues already removing the exact same content, and despite meaningful letters from his doctor, wife, and boss, Justin’s attorney and his multiple respectful requests to the remaining news outlets for content removal and a fresh start for him and his family were unsuccessful.
Legal Action
Legal action commenced with this cease and desist letter. In Circuit Court, the judge denied a “nothing published was false” defense and confirmed that the public narrative was indeed in dispute. Despite this, however, and despite the fact that all that should matter in journalism is what’s actually true or false, it was still argued that what was true or false was not relevant—which was disheartening.
Thoughts on Change
Media Transparency
Partly why legal action was taken is the JBCHP‘s desire to see universal media transparency—as in, more companies adopting policies like TMJ4’sthat allow the subjects of outdated or inaccurate news stories the opportunity to petition to have them removed if they present credible evidence to the contrary.
School Social Boundaries Awareness
Seeking to address the need for programs that address social boundary awareness in schools today, Justin developed an outline for a potential school orientation video on social boundaries and has pitched it to school districts. There are plenty of antiquated orientation videos on various sorts of procedural aspects for jobs in the education field, but none address the need for social boundary training and awareness, especially for young staff members at the high school level. Schools today, especially high schools, are not “innocent establishments of children learning,” and the training needs to reflect that.
Thoughts on Change
Media Transparency
Partly why legal action was taken is the JBCHP’s desire to see universal media transparency—as in, more companies adopting policies like TMJ4’sthat allow the subjects of outdated or inaccurate news stories the opportunity to petition to have them removed if they present credible evidence to the contrary.
School Social Boundaries Awareness
Seeking to address the need for programs that address social boundary awareness in schools today, Justin developed an outline for a potential school orientation video on social boundaries and has pitched it to school districts. There are plenty of antiquated orientation videos on various sorts of procedural aspects for jobs in the education field, but none address the need for social boundary training and awareness, especially for young staff members at the high school level. Schools today, especially high schools, are not “innocent establishments of children learning,” and the training needs to reflect that.
Cease and Desist Letters Result
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Other than one response that stated “not at this time,” the letters went unanswered. The next step was to file a legal action claim in Circuit Court.
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Any briefs, pleadings, or other documents and filings associated with the case are available to view by request. Please email contact@jbchp.org to submit an inquiry. The evidence exhibits from the case are available here.
Appellate Court Result
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Despite the claim being rooted solely in negligence relating to the refusal to remove articles containing inaccurate narratives despite contradictory evidence, the Appellate Court sadly still addressed the claim as though it were defamation and dismissed the suit on the grounds that the statute of limitations had run. The legal action argued that the statute of limitations began the first instance of refusal to remove the articles, not when they were first published, but the Appellate Court disagreed.
It is most telling, however, that neither court ever once affirmed that the “set of facts” or version of events portrayed in the media was accurate, with the Circuit Court even outrightly rejecting this premise (see Circuit Court Result). This is ironic because whether or not something is factual is all that should matter in journalism and in a court of law, but sadly, the case never got to the point where a potential jury could evaluate the evidence. Due to how the laws are set up, it is extremely difficult to succeed in legal action regarding media companies, but that doesn’t mean that people shouldn’t make the effort—attempts made to try and bring more accountability and transparency to an institution are never a bad thing. Since the next step would have been the Supreme Court, this is where the litigation phase ended, but Justin remains committed to attempting to get the articles removed through diligent, respectful communication attempts.
A river cuts through a rock not because of its power, but because of its persistence.” – James N. Watkins
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Despite the fact that all that should matter in journalism is what’s actually true or false, it was still argued that what was true or false was not relevant—which was disheartening.
____________________________
Any briefs, pleadings, or other documents and filings associated with the case are available to view by request. Please email contact@jbchp.org to submit an inquiry. The evidence exhibits from the case are available here.
Circuit Court Result
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Big Win in Circuit Court
By God’s grace, Justin was able to defeat one of the attempted defenses. The attempt was to claim that there was no duty of care owed because nothing reported was false, but the Circuit Judge rejected this. He responded by implying that the news accounts were not the default set of facts as was being claimed. He instead asserted that what was true and what wasn’t hadn’t yet been established by the Court, thereby rejecting the defense altogether.
The Circuit Court, However, Ultimately Dismissed the Case
Overall, however, the Circuit Court unfortunately addressed Justin’s claim as though it were rooted in defamation when it was not. It was, in fact, rooted solely in the negligent act of refusing to remove articles containing inaccurate narratives after contradicting credible evidence had been shown. The Court also ruled that the statute of limitations had expired, but the initial act of refusal had, in fact, occurred within the statute of limitation time period (and it would have been extremely difficult to file while still on probation for a variety of reasons). The Court, incorrectly addressing the claim as defamation, set the statute of limitations all the way back to when the articles were first published. A prominent civil rights attorney that Justin knows initially agreed and felt that the law was misapplied.
Grounds for Appeal
Based on how U.S. law is set up, it is virtually impossible to be successful in legal action concerning the media as the accountability for journalistic institutions is vague and ambiguous under the guise of “Freedom of the Press.” To be fair, there are many who work in media who do their jobs with integrity and accountability, but there are certainly some who use surreptitious strategies to avoid legal liability. This might include slanting stories by intentionally leaving out inconvenient or politically incorrect facts, context, perspective, or proportion to give an incomplete story, which makes it very hard to be successful in a claim concerning their actions because they did not “break the law.” No defamation is committed, but the whole story is not told, so the story is not true. It is a gray area of law.
Despite a valiant effort and despite the big win of the judge actually rejecting one of the attempted defenses, the Circuit Court initially dismissed Justin’s case. This was cause for an appeal as he didn’t want to give up.
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Any briefs, pleadings, or other documents and filings associated with the case are available to view by request. Please email contact@jbchp.org to submit an inquiry. The evidence exhibits from the case are available here.
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