http://courts.state.ar.us/opinions/2000a/20000629/00-128.html
Joe RUDD, Administrator of the Estate of
Earl James Routt, Deceased, and Carol Rudd,
Holly Welzbacher, and Judson Routt v.
PULASKI COUNTY SPECIAL SCHOOL DISTRICT,
Margie Davis, Gary Smith, and Gary Parsons
00-128 ___ S.W.3d ___
Supreme Court of Arkansas
Opinion delivered June 29, 2000
...In the present case, both the perpetrator, W.J., and the victim were students attending the same high school and riding the same school bus. We first inquire into the relationship of the perpetrator, W.J., to the school district, to determine whether he was a state actor. Is there a custodial relationship between the school and W.J. requiring the school to restrict W.J.'s capability to do harm to others? If so, does the school district's failure to maintain restraints on W.J. transform him into a state actor for the purpose of triggering the provisions of the Arkansas Civil Rights Act?
We have addressed similar questions as issues of first impression in Shepherd v. Washington County, 331 Ark. 480, 962 S.W.2d 779 (1998). In Shepherd, we traced recent federal cases in which the courts have held that a custodial relationship exists between the government and convicted felons in custody. See Martinez v. California, 444 U.S. 277 (1980)(holding that a plaintiff must satisfy three requirements in order to sustain a claim under...
