Preview

Morse V. Frederick

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
305 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Morse V. Frederick
MORSE v. FREDERICK Personally as a Supreme Court judge and after taking a fairly through look at the cases, I’d have to rule in favor of Frederick. While the banner that Mr. Frederick had up during the school event does make a reference to drugs, the message is pretty vague as even I can’t really interpret the true absolute definition of the banner. Judge Steven even states “Justice John Paul Stevens took the position that the school 's interest in protecting students from speech that can be reasonably regarded as promoting drug use does not justify Frederick 's punishment for his attempt to make an ambiguous statement simply because it refers to drugs.” ( n/a, 2012). Another important reason why I am following this ruling is because while yes Mr. Frederick had a 14 foot banner held high it didn’t exactly disrupt the school event itself and it was the principals own interpretation of the message that caused a disruption that escalated into Frederick’s unjustified punishment. This statement from the ACLU even states that Fredericks actions were done off school campus, “As the ACLU and Mertz noted, the sign caused no disruption, was displayed at the Olympic Torch Relay - a public event on public streets - and Frederick had not yet arrived at school for the day.” (N/a, 2007 ). Just by this alone I believe that the principal had no justification in asking to take the banner down because of the cryptic message let alone punish Mr. Frederick just because of her own intrepertation.

Citations n/a. (2012, March 26). Facts and case summary. Retrieved from http://www.aclu.org/free-speech/morse-v-frederick n/a. (2007, June 25). Aclu slams supreme court decision in student free speech case . Retrieved from


Citations: n/a. (2012, March 26). Facts and case summary. Retrieved from http://www.aclu.org/free-speech/morse-v-frederick n/a. (2007, June 25). Aclu slams supreme court decision in student free speech case . Retrieved from http://www.aclu.org/free-speech/aclu-slams-supreme-court-decision-student-free-speech-case
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    Carpenter V. United States Case Study
    • 184 Words
    • 1 Page

    Carpenter V. United States Case Study

    The supreme court case Carpenter v. United States is arising the question of whether the warrantless search and seizure of cell phone records revealing the movement of the user over the course of 127 days. After four people were arrested for a series of armed robberies, one confessed and gave his phone number as well as the others. As a result of this more chargers were placed on Carpenter for interfering with interstate commerce, because of the Hobbs Act. This case is using the fourth amendment and arguing that his phone being searched was an “unreasonable search or seizure”. I think that the US or FBI is right in this case, since Carpenter had already committed multiple armed robberies and the information was provided by another person who…

    • 184 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Morse Vs Frederick Case Study
    • 380 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Morse Vs Frederick Case Study

    After reviewing the case of Morse v Frederick, on a vote of 4-0, the court concluded that the school officials did not violate the First Amendment by confiscating the pro-drug banner and suspending the student responsible for it. On January 24, 2002, Principal Deborah Morse of Juneau-Douglass High School created a school-sanctioned event. This event allowed students to participate in the Olympic Torch Relay. The torch was on its way to Salt Lake City Utah, when Joseph Frederick, in front of the televised event, revealed a banner that read, “BONG HiTS 4 JESUS.” Morse removed the banner from Frederick and suspended him for ten days. Frederick believed that Morse’s actions violated his…

    • 380 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Bethel V Fraser
    • 663 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Bethel V Fraser

    On April 26, 1983, Matthew Fraser gave a speech nominating another student for an elected position. The speech was given to about 600 fourteen year olds that chose to attend this assembly. The speech contained sexual innuendo. Before giving the speech Fraser received advise from several teachers that he should change the speech or not give one at all. But he refused to take their advice (2). The next day, he was called in to an administrative office and was suspended for three days and was told he would not be able to give his speech during graduation even though he was at the time the salutatorian. The family of Fraser filed a grievance with the Pierce County school board, but the officer upheld the suspension. In response, to that decision Matthew’s father filed a case against the school district. The District Court ruled that the student’s First Amendment right was infringed upon. The students was awarded a monetary judgment and allowed to give his graduation speech. Later, the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed the judgment of the District Court (4). Later, the US Supreme Court reversed the Court of Appeals in a 7-2 vote to reinstate the suspension, saying that the school district's policy did not violate the First Amendment (3).…

    • 663 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Bethel School District V Fraser Case Brief
    • 902 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Bethel School District V Fraser Case Brief

    In the case of Bethel School District v. Fraser a lot happened. In my understanding there was a school event in which students gave speeches. The one student gave a speech with language unaccepted in the school, and got suspended, and was not allowed to be voted in for the election. The Father got angry and believed that his sons amendment rights were being violated. He felt like his sons first amendment right of freedom of speech was being withheld from him, along with his fourteenth amendment right. The case first went to a general court and it could not be agreed upon, so in tern it went to the Supreme Court because it could not be agreed upon in the lower court system and was to controversial. The court case was taken extremely seriously because it could change school rights, as they were known.…

    • 902 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Brown V. Cabell 598 Summary
    • 656 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Brown V. Cabell 598 Summary

    School Board of Norfolk, 801 F.Supp. 1526 (E.D. Va. 1992). Here, a middle school student, Kimberly Broussard, wore a t-shirt that read “Drugs Suck”. Her parents sued on her behalf claiming that her shirt was a form of free speech protected by the First Amendment of the United States. Here, the courts ruled in favor of the school board, saying that although the shirt displayed an anti-drug message, the word “suck” was considered a vulgar word with a sexual connotation and therefore not allowed in school because it interfered with the classroom learning environment. Id. at…

    • 656 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Tinker V. Des Moines Independent Community School Case Study
    • 930 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Tinker V. Des Moines Independent Community School Case Study

    The Supreme Court struck the delicate balance between maintaining an ordered school environment and inculcating First Amendment values within students in four cases, which together defined the boundaries of student-expression rights. The first of these cases, Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District has been called the “magna carta of student’s expression rights.” The events in Tinker occurred in 1965 during the controversy of the Vietnam War. In Des Moines, Iowa, a group of adults and students objected to the Vietnam conflict by wearing black armbands. Principals in the area heard of these intentions and, “[feeling] that ‘the schools [were] no place for demonstrations,’” prohibited students from wearing black armbands to school. John and Mary Beth Tinker wore black armbands to school and were suspended when they refused to remove them. The Court held the prohibition and punishment an unconstitutional deprivation of the student’s expression rights because school officials could not of reasonably forecasted substantial disruption of school…

    • 930 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    The Supreme Court Case Of Tinker V. Des Moines
    • 840 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The Supreme Court Case Of Tinker V. Des Moines

    Des Moines court case was written by Justice Abe Fortas. Its contents contribute to the ideas of those who believe certain kinds of speech should not be prohibited within an educational setting. In this majority opinion statement, Justice Abe Fortas reveals that there is an “absence of a specific showing of constitutionally valid reasons to regulate [students’] speech” (Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District by Justice Abe Fortas par. 9). Because of this absence of reason, students should be allowed to express their opinions and views on topics of their choice. Justice Abe Fortas justifies his statement by referencing another court case that says “school officials cannot suppress ‘expressions of feelings with which they do not wish to contend’ Burnside v. Byars, supra, at 749” (par. 9).…

    • 840 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    “Bong Hits for Jesus”
    • 279 Words
    • 2 Pages

    “Bong Hits for Jesus”

    In my ruling, the illegal glorification of the drug culture “Bong hits for Jesus”. I feel the school had made a bad judgment call about having the banner. I feel it is not an attack on the saying “Bong hits for Jesus”. I feel that this is an attack on the student’s first amendment rights, just because the sign had something to do with marijuana. The school has an anti- drug program. I believe a non- disruptive pin, shirt, banner, etc. should not be taking from a student, for the shear fact that they oppose the anti-drug programs that the school offers. It is an attack on their first amendments rights. It was a 15-foot joke. The school dose has the right to not tolerate an interruption of a school sponsored anti-drug event. But this was not this kind of an event and the banner was not placed on school grounds. The banner was placed across the street from the school in a public open forum. One cannot be punished for holding of a banner not on school property. I feel that the principal was wrong to hastily take the banner down in the heat of the moment, but feel she should not pay punitive damages, for the banner was not worth much. Though the pride of the student’s who put the banner up was hurt a little I feel they should not be punished for expressing their first amendment rights, which they demonstrated non-violently, very conformed manner, and not on school property.…

    • 279 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Best Essays

    American Civil Liberties Union Pros And Cons
    • 1407 Words
    • 6 Pages

    American Civil Liberties Union Pros And Cons

    As Walker put it “The American Civil Liberties Union was a unique organization….In contrast, the American Civil Liberties Union adopted the policy of impartially defending civil liberties, including the principle of free speech, without reference to the content of that speech” This comes at a time when “the Supreme Court had soundly rejected all First Amendment claims.” (47)…

    • 1407 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Best Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Franklin V Gwinnett
    • 436 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Franklin V Gwinnett

    On December 11th, 1990, Christine Franklin filed a lawsuit against the Gwinnett County Public School system. During her sophomore year in high school at Gwinnett High School, she was continually harassed sexually by her economics teacher Andrew Hill. Mr. Hill would kiss her, feel on her, and constantly try to engage in inappropriate sexual conversations with Franklin. Franklin first went to staff at the school. Nothing was done. Franklin told the administration on the Board of Education and they begged for no charges to be pressed on the school because they didn’t want a bad reputation or for the incident to publicize. Instead, Mr. Hill offered to resign from teaching if no charges were pressed, so the school looked past the whole thing.…

    • 436 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    What Is Bill's Freedom Of Expression Rights Violated In This Case
    • 742 Words
    • 3 Pages

    What Is Bill's Freedom Of Expression Rights Violated In This Case

    Was Bill's freedom of expression rights violated in this case? Why or why not? Bill's freedom of expression rights was not violated in this case because the school had already initiated a policy prohibiting the wearing of any gang symbols, which included earrings. "Gang members tend to wear specific apparel or colors to convey gang affiliation" (Essex, 2012, p. 114).…

    • 742 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Wolff V. Mcdonnell
    • 893 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Wolff V. Mcdonnell

    The criminal justice system realizes that inmates do have some rights, however it is also recognized that those inmates do have less rights than free citizens. Taking away some rights of the inmates is a valid punishment and by restricting these rights it helps in maintaining security in prisons. The title of the case that I chose was Wolff v. McDonnell. This case was very important because it uniformed certain rights and freedoms within correctional facilities. “Although inmates received some procedural safe-guards to protect them against the notorious abuses of disciplinary meetings, they did not receive all the due- process rights of a criminal trial” (Clemens, 2002). Nor did the Court question the right of correctional officials to revoke the good time of inmates. In this case, “Robert O. McDonnell, a prisoner, had filed a class- action suit against the state of Nebraska, claiming that its disciplinary procedures, especially those pertaining to the loss of good time were unconstitutional” (Clemens, 2002). McDonnell also complained, along with other inmates, about the limitations on their access to the law library, legal services, and visitation with the inmate legal assistant and that the regulations regarding prisoners ' mail violated the attorney-client privilege” (Keenan, 2005). This case was argued on Argued April 22, 1974 and a decision was made on decided June 26, 1974.…

    • 893 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    First Amendment Rights in Public Schools
    • 2102 Words
    • 9 Pages

    First Amendment Rights in Public Schools

    In 1789, James Madison first proposed a set of documents that gave certain inalienable rights to Americans. On December 15, 1791 the first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution were ratified and became known as the Bill of Rights. The First Amendment of the Constitution is the most sacred to Americans. It says that, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances”. If we didn’t have these freedoms then America would not be what it is today. It is important that these freedoms are preserved and protected so that future generations can thrive and lead this country. In the following law review article, the issue of freedom of speech in the classroom is examined. This is an important topic because if the freedom of speech or expression is taken away from students, aren’t we taking away the chance for students to learn?…

    • 2102 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    censorship
    • 707 Words
    • 2 Pages

    censorship

    The first amendment guarantees a right to freedom of speech, but how far does that the right of freedom of speech reach? Is there a limit to what you are allowed to say without being penalized under the court of law? Can the government suppress your right of speech if it violates civil standards? These are some of the many questions in will be discussing through this paper with you. According to the first amendment of the us constitution, one of the basic principles our country is based on is freedom of speech. Solely because of this as ages has passed in a still young country. The first amendment has greater use then previously stated its intentions to be. What speech is such thus uses to reach this liberation and freedom? Freedom of speech is the most powerful amendments that we have in the United States constitution, without this right many of the things we see today such as technology, music, and innovations would not subsist in our modern world that we live in, civilization would be left oblivious. Just think if you could be fined, jailed, or killed for speaking your mind. Freedom of speech is American citizens a basic line of communication for whatever one chooses to believe in, with freedom of speech you are able to express your thoughts freely without many judging, and followers of your beliefs will speak stronger and in volumes. This amendment also entails that there be separation of the church and state be maintained. Free speech sounds like a simple thought but when you actually contemplate on the subject without free speech this world that we live in today would be very much different from what we are living in now. Think about the things that are going on today, things that you read and see on the web or on television you would not be able to see if free speech was not implemented in our constitution life would beat…

    • 707 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    The Right Choice
    • 984 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The Right Choice

    Cited: - "Free Speech." Gale Encyclopedia of Everyday Law. Ed. Jeffrey Wilson. 2nd ed. Vol. 2. Detroit: Gale, 2006. 1013-1017. Student Resources In Context. Web. 25 Apr. 2013.…

    • 984 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More

Related Topics