OUR VIEW: Justice served with teacher’s exoneration

Staff Editorial
Published: August 24, 2008

» SUMMARY: Michele L. Auville claimed innocence from day one; now, a grand jury has dropped felony drug charges against her.

When a longtime first-grade teacher at Emerald Hill Elementary School was charged with felony drug possession May 31 after a traffic stop, it naturally became big news.

Police say they discovered a crack pipe in her vicinity when she exited the car, which was driven by James Henry Mack Jr. All along, Michele L. Auville claimed the pipe wasn’t hers, telling this newspaper that “the truth will come out.”

Last week, a grand jury cemented that prediction, dismissing the case. Expert analysis showed Auville’s fingerprints were not on the pipe and she had no illegal drugs in her system. Essentially, it could not be proven that the pipe belonged to her, and the case was not allowed to proceed to trial.

Auville, 35, who had no criminal past, seems to be someone who was in the wrong place at the wrong time. The events surrounding her arrest are still suspicious — after all, Auville was in a car at 5:15 a.m. on a Saturday with a driver who has a long history of drug possession. Mack, whose court hearing is set for Sept. 24, is charged with DUI and accelerating from police when they tried to pull him over for driving erratically.

But in the eyes of the law, Auville, who resigned her teaching position and moved out of state, is now cleared.

The lesson here? Choose your friends wisely. Be careful with whom you associate, especially when you have the awesome responsibility of being a role model to 6-year-olds.

This is an unfortunate case, but one that seemingly could have been avoided.