Heartland justice

Education | Federal court scolds juvenile officer for attack on Christian school | Mark Bergin

On Oct. 30, 2001, juvenile officer Michael Waddle coordinated an invasion of Heartland Christian Academy near Newark, Mo., apprehending 115 students from the school's highly successful, tough-love recovery program. The maneuver, one motivated by unsubstantiated charges of physical abuse, drew national headlines and provoked a lawsuit from Heartland founder Charlie Sharpe.

Four years later, a federal court has shot down Mr. Waddle's state-supported defense with unanimity and vigor. The 8th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed a previous district court injunction from March 2004, calling the Heartland raid a violation of students' Fourth Amendment rights and limiting any future state intervention to cases of "serious physical harm" or "sexual abuse"—neither of which were ever suspected at Heartland.