| Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier | ||||||
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Supreme Court of the United States |
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| Argued October 13, 1987 Decided January 13, 1988 |
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| Full case name | Hazelwood School District, et al. v. Kuhlmeier, et al. | |||||
| Docket nos. | 86-836 | |||||
| Citations | 484 U.S. 260 (more) 108 S. Ct. 562; 98 L. Ed. 2d 592; 1985 U.S. LEXIS 310; 56 U.S.L.W. 4079; 14 Media L. Rep. 2081 |
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| Prior history | On writ of certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit | |||||
| Argument | Oral argument | |||||
| Holding | ||||||
| The Court held that speech that can be reasonably viewed to have the school's imprimatur can be regulated by the school if the school has a legitimate pedagogical concern in regulating the speech. | ||||||
| Court membership | ||||||
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| Case opinions | ||||||
| Majority | White, joined by Rehnquist, Stevens, O'Connor, Scalia | |||||
| Dissent | Brennan, joined by Marshall, Blackmun | |||||
| Kennedy took no part in the consideration or decision of the case. | ||||||
| Laws applied | ||||||
| U.S. Const. amend. I | ||||||
Hazelwood School District et al. v. Kuhlmeier et al., 484 U.S. 260 (1988) was a decision by the Supreme Court of the United States, which held that public school curricular student newspapers that have not been established as forums for student expression are subject to a lower level of First Amendment protection than independent student expression or newspapers established (by policy or practice) as forums for student expression.
The case was decided in favor of Hazelwood School District, overruling a Court of Appeals reversal of a District Court ruling. There were 5 votes for Hazelwood, and 3 against. The justices believed that the censorship did not violate the student's First Amendment rights of free speech.
Contents |
The U.S. Supreme Court held for the first time that public school officials may impose some limits on what appears in school-sponsored student publications. The high school paper in question, the Spectrum was published as part of a journalism class at Hazelwood East High School in the Hazelwood School District in St. Louis County, Missouri. The newspaper's cost was completely absorbed by the school district. The principal at Hazelwood, Robert Reynolds, usually reviewed the school paper before it was published (prior review), had the proofs given to him by the advisor of the paper, Howard Emerson. The May 13, 1983 issue proofs, delivered to Principal Reynolds on May 10, contained stories about teenage pregnancy and divorce. Reynolds was concerned that, though some of the students had been assigned pseudonyms, it might be possible to guess their identities, and in the divorce story that used the real name of a student, the father was not given an opportunity to respond to his daughter's criticism. Also, he was concerned that younger students may not be old enough for the content of the articles. Reynolds decided there was not enough time to change the articles, so he eliminated those stories, rather than delay or cancel the issue completely. Cathy Kuhlmeier and two of her fellow students then brought their school to court, claiming that the school went against the First Amendment's freedom of speech and press, and that their principal did not have the right to censor their articles. [1]
The First Amendment protection for student expression described did not compel a public school to affirmatively sponsor speech that conflicts with its "legitimate pedagogical goals." The school-financed newspaper at issue was also not considered to be a public forum under the totality of circumstances present in the case, and therefore, its editors were entitled to a lower level of First Amendment protection than is applicable to independent student newspapers or those newspapers that have, by policy and practice, opened their page to student opinion.
Under the First Amendment, school officials can censor non-forum student newspapers when they can justify their decision by stating an educational purpose. However, this decision does not allow school officials to censor articles wantonly or based on personal opinion, as shown in Dean v. Utica.
However, it is important to note that seven states have passed laws guaranteeing that all student newspapers have the right to publish freely.[1]. These states include Arkansas, California, Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Massachusetts and Oregon. The Hazelwood standard does not apply to student newspapers in these states; with limited exceptions, student editors control the content.
In 2005, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals decided Hosty v. Carter, which applied Hazelwood to college newspapers. That decision currently applies only to colleges in Wisconsin and Indiana. College publications in other states retain strong First Amendment protection.