Butler v. District of Columbia

Mr. Weir was not present at the beginning of his junior high school printing class, because the principal had assigned him to supervise the cafeteria. Ronald Butler (plaintiff) was blinded when a classmate in their unsupervised class threw a sharp metallic object at him. Weir got to his classroom less than 10 minutes after Butler’s injury. Small, metallic type was part of the classroom’s equipment, and a witness testified that pieces of type were on the floor where Butler was hit. However, an ophthalmologist could not determine what object struck him. Butler testified that Weir and the principal knew that students would horseplay and throw objects in the printing classroom if the teacher was not present. However, the principal denied that allegation. Butler sued the District of Columbia (DC) (defendant), arguing that the school authorities negligently supervised the printing classroom. Butler did not show that Weir was unnecessarily late for his printing class. The principal testified that each teacher had designated duties during lunch period, which placed teachers where supervision was most needed to provide maximum security. The trial judge directed a verdict for DC on alternative grounds, holding that the alleged negligence was a clearly discretionary matter determined by the school authorities, and therefore, governmental immunity barred suit against DC. Alternatively, the judge held that Butler presented insufficient evidence for a jury to be able to reasonably determine that the school negligently allocated available teachers. Butler appealed and argued for the first time that Weir’s failure to lock up the dangerous metallic type was further evidence of negligence. In addition, Butler also argued on appeal that students should not have been allowed in the printing classroom without teacher supervision.