Thus: slander must be confronted where it has been found.

Slander does nothing to help in the discovery of abuse and criminal behavior, but does tend to make enemies where there were mere rivals before.

If you are suggesting that affording legal protection to employees in the face of sometimes frivolous and sometimes discriminatory termination is the same as obstructing justice in any form, you are dead wrong.

From the article:

Another teacher spotted the two in the hot-and-heavy embrace and told the principal, authorities said.

Hardly a photograph. Have you ever been falsely accused of something for personal reasons? Is this woman not entitled to due process?

The Education Department will seek to fire her if she is convicted, a spokesman said. [emphasis mine]

As they should.

No mention of an ACLU defense, and they won't touch this one unless there are factors not revealed in the article that include some serious Constitutional violation.

The teachers' union to which she belongs may very well provide counsel; it's the kind of thing that teachers' dues pay for. It should not be construed to mean that teachers' unions support abusive and criminal behavior, but that teachers are also entitled to legal representation in court, even though some people think they are the scum of the Earth.

Please be reminded that the "bad apples" that principals could get rid of with impunity before intervention by such horrible organizations as you mention included: pregnant women, including the married ones; people who practiced minority religions and took days off to support their religious practice; people of the wrong race; people whose sexual orientation was questioned; people who recommended testing to parents of struggling students even though it would cost the school district money; people who spoke as private citizens on political matters that disagreed with school positions, although they conformed to policy while at work. Ah, the good old days!