Scholastic journalism law cases
This Michigan case reaffirmed the importance of being a forum by policy or practice.
This article talks about the importance of the Dean decision.
This 2007 U. S. Supreme Court case could change the landscape for scholastic media, depending how courts and administrators interpret it or act on what they think it says. Read the decision itself.
• Draudt v. Wooster City School District
This Ohio case reaffirmed the concept of the forum as a legitimate means of protection against censorship, at least in the Sixth Circuit.
This case, involving speech interests on both sides,
arises from the decision of two public high school student publications --
the newspaper and yearbook -- not to publish an advertisement. The
advertisement promoted sexual abstinence and was proffered by a parent,
Douglas Yeo, in the aftermath of a decision by the Lexington, Massachusetts
School Committee to make condoms available to students as a public health
matter. Yeo had campaigned against the condom distribution policy and lost.
The two high school student publications declined to publish the
advertisement on the grounds that each had a policy, albeit unwritten, of
not running political or advocacy advertisements.
• Decision on ads supports forum concept
A First Circuit Court of Appeals decision this fall paved the way for some student publications to retain their freedom of expression. Those publications which will benefit most from the decision give students the educational opportunity and freedom to decide content. In the case, Yeo v. Lexington, a six-judge panel ruled student journalists have the right to refuse ads. Even more significant may be the court’s language that where students enjoy the responsibility of content decision-making, school administrators are not liable for content.
Links to these important cases:
• Links to articles about the Morse v. Frederick decision (Bong Hits 4 Jesus)
• Links to a number of important U. S. Supreme Court decisions and those from lower courts
• Links to article on the Tinker, Hazelwood and Bethel decisions