Maner case: H-L analysis

None of the jurors spoke to Herald-Leader reporters, so their analysis is difficult to take as definitive. But I sure don't have a better explanation for the jury's finding that Fayette County school district officials knew and failed to respond to the repeated sexual abuse of a student. The jury says that's what happened. It's inexcusable.

I chatted with a Fayette County high school associate principal today who reflected my own feelings. The principal knew one of the accused individuals, was shocked by the allegations and saddened by the outcome - not that it went against the district she cares about - but that it was apparently true. Given the burden the plaintiffs had to carry in the case, the evidence must have been compelling.
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It came down to the word of a mother

Maner faced big hurdles on way to $3.7 million verdict

After two weeks of exhaustive evidence and testimony, the trial of Carol Lynne Maner's sex-abuse lawsuit came down to the word of a mother who had abused her kids versus that of an educator who was well respected in the community.

The jury sided with the mom, delivering a $3.7 million verdict against the Fayette County Board of Education. It is probably the largest collectable verdict leveled by Lexington jurors since 1989.

A jury of four men and eight women found that the school board ignored alleged sexual abuse of Maner by four teachers, a guidance counselor and an assistant principal at Beaumont Junior High School and Lafayette High School in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

The verdict is remarkable not only for the size of the damages but for the hurdles Maner faced in proving the board's liability. She had to prove nearly 30-year-old allegations that were so extraordinary that some observers thought it unlikely a jury would believe them....

...Maner's first obstacle was proving that her case was not barred by the statute of limitations. That meant convincing jurors that a pillar of the community, former superintendent Guy S. Potts, effectively concealed suspected abuse of Maner by two teachers in 1979 and 1980.

And Maner's lawyers relied, almost entirely, on the word of the mother, Carolyn Maner, who was investigated by state social workers for bruising her daughter's leg after an argument. The mother was also bipolar and had a multiple personality disorder.

"They might believe she is mentally ill, but they didn't think she was lying," said attorney Chris Miller, who also represented Maner...

...There may be another reason why jurors sided with Maner, one that puts the school board in a better light.

Jurors may have been so angry from the sex-abuse allegations that they wanted to take it out on somebody. That somebody happened to be the only defendant in the suit: the school board....

...Another key factor in the trial is that the school board did not directly challenge much of Maner's sex abuse allegations...

...[Attorney Chris] Miller, [who also represented Maner] pounced on the fact that Walter, Hubbard and Kazee did not testify.

"That really did hurt them because those people are still alive," Arnold said. "There was never a good explanation for (their absence).

That may have changed the whole complexion of the case."

...Maner thinks the testimony of Dr. Robert Granacher, an experienced Lexington psychiatrist, backfired and angered jurors.

For starters, his testimony opened the door for Maner's attorneys to tell jurors about the affidavit of a man who says he witnessed Maner being raped in the Lafayette auditorium. Judge Thomas Clark had previously ruled that Maner's attorneys could not introduce that evidence since the man had died and the defense couldn't question him.

But Granacher mentioned it in his testimony.

"He let that cat out of the box," Maner said.

The psychiatrist said that Maner might have benefited from her relationship with Walter and was depressed, in part, because of hormonal problems. Granacher also said that sexual abuse cannot cause post-traumatic stress disorder, causing a juror to roll his eyes, Maner said.

This from the Herald-Leader.