Excerpt
(Excerpted from Supreme Court Debates, May 2007)
On January 24, 2002, during a school-sanctioned viewing of the Olympic Torch Relay, Juneau-Douglas High senior Joseph Frederick held up a sign that read “Bong Hits 4 Jesus” across the street from his school. Five years later, nine U.S. Supreme Court justices debated what the sign meant — and whether Frederick’s First Amendment rights were violated when the school’s principal made him take it down.
Since 1968, student speech has been governed by Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District, a landmark case in which the Cou…
In This Issue
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Foreword
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Before the Court
The Justices Weigh in During Oral Arguments
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Opinion of the Court
A Public School Student Can be Suspended for Speech That Encourages Drug Use
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Student Speech
Overview of Supreme Court Precedent
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Lower Court Holding
Decision of the Eleventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals
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Pro & Con
Does the First Amendment Allow Public Schools to Prohibit Students From Displaying Messages Promoting Drugs at School-Sponsored Events?
Pro
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Deborah Morse and Juneau School Board
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United States of America
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D.A.R.E. America, Drug Free America Foundation, Inc., National Families in Action, Save Our Society from Drugs, William J. Bennett, and General Barry R. McCaffrey
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National School Boards Association, American Association of School Administrators, and National Association of Secondary School Principals
Con
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The Student Press Law Center, Feminists for Free Expression, the First Amendment Project, the Freedom to Read Foundation, and the Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression
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The Liberty Legal Institute
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Students for Sensible Drug Policy
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The Christian Legal Society
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The Drug Policy Alliance and the Campaign for New Drug Policies
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Joseph Frederick
