Morse v. Frederick
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Morse and the Juneau School Board et al. v. Frederick is the name of a court case that will be heard by the Supreme Court of the United States between plaintiff Joseph Frederick, a former student of Juneau-Douglas High School, and the Juneau School Board and former principal Debrah Morse as the defendants.[1] Ken Starr, previously known as the special prosecutor who led the case for the Clinton impeachment, is representing the School Board pro bono.
[edit] Overview
Frederick, a minor at the time, displayed a banner with the words "Bong Hits 4 Jesus" on it during the Olympic Torch relay on its way through Juneau toward Salt Lake City for the 2002 Winter Games. For this action, Frederick was suspended for 10 days. The incident occurred across the street from the high school on private property. The School has argued that since the incident was a school sponsored activity, albeit one in the school parking lot, it qualified as a field trip and that school regulations were to still apply. Frederick is arguing his case on First Amendment grounds, asserting that he was not under school jurisdiction at the time he displayed the banner and as such did not give up any of his rights, which the court has asserted is necessary and customary to restrict in a primary and secondary school environment. Frederick also argues against the penalties against two other students, Sam Bellacosa and Dan Feblowitz, who received punishment for the incident as well.
[edit] Court decisions
The district court ruled in favor of the School Board and Deborah Morse. Frederick v. Morse, 2003 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 27270 (D. Alaska 2003).
The appellate court reversed the District Court and granted the case to Mr. Frederick, ruling that the incident did not take place during any school-related activity and punishment therefore violated his First Amendment rights. Frederick v. Morse, 439 F.3d 1114 (9th Cir. 2006).
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decision was appealed to the Supreme Court of the United States, and on Dec. 1, 2006 they agreed to hear the case. The case is Juneau School Board v. Frederick, 06-278.
