Noah Feldman, Columnist

A Belch in Gym Class. Then Handcuffs and a Lawsuit.

A 13-year-old's arrest for a school prank divides an appeals court between common sense and strict interpretation of the law.

July 27, 2016 at 12:32 PM EDT

By Noah Feldman

Noah Feldman is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist. A professor of law at Harvard University, he is author, most recently, of “To Be a Jew Today: A New Guide to God, Israel, and the Jewish People."

A lesson learned.
Photographer: Sean Gallup/Getty Images

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Is fake burping in gym class enough to get a seventh-grader arrested? Yes, according to a federal appeals court, which granted immunity to school officials sued by the kid’s family after the 13-year-old was hauled off to juvenile detention in handcuffs.

The officer's action was based on a New Mexico misdemeanor law that makes disrupting school activities a crime. In a 94-page opinion, the court backed the arrest, saying the law didn't forbid arresting someone for burping.

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