Bong Hits 4 Jesus!

[Porsche-O-Phile]

Anyone else following this?

http://www.cnn.com/2007/LAW/03/19/scotus.bonghits.ap/index.html

Granted, this kid is an attention whore but the potential precedent that could be set is pretty dangerous.

Predictably, the Bush administration is siding with those opposing free speech. Keep in mind that this occurred on PUBLIC property. . .

Interesting stuff.

[legion]

This case should have never been heard, IMO.

[kach22i]

It takes money and lots of it for a case to make it to the Supremo Court.

message "vague and nonsensical"

Who's money fueled this............on either side?

[MRM]

Pro bono on both sides: ACLU vs Ken Star who is donating his time to the school district.

The blurb I heard said that Kennedy, who is widely considered the swing fifth vote, made no secret that he thought the stunt was "sophomoric". In the kid's defense, he is just a little older than being a sophomore.

[legion]

A ruling either way is bad, IMO.

I don't want an anti-1st Amendment precedent, but I don't want high schools littered with the type of crap I used to come up with at that age to test the patience of the administration.

[Superman]

Sounds like you guys are deciding the issue now. "....should have never been heard...." WTF? I guess the cases that the Court might potentially affirm as free speech are limited to those that Legion thinks should get that chance?

Guys, the courts decide these things. And the default position is yes, this is free speech. If you want to put a muzzle on someone, THAT'S what you go to court for. Not to get your rights affirmed. They are already. Until a court says otherwise, this fellow's rights have been violated.

Except that he's a minor and under the control of the school. That's relevant, I think.

[legion]

Originally posted by Superman
Guys, the courts decide these things. And the default position is yes, this is free speech. If you want to put a muzzle on someone, THAT'S what you go to court for. Not to get your rights affirmed. They are already. Until a court says otherwise, this fellow's rights have been violated.

Why is the default "the right exists" not true of the 2nd Amendment?

[legion]

Originally posted by Superman
Except that he's a minor and under the control of the school. That's relevant, I think.

True.

[RoninLB]

[Seahawk]

Originally posted by Superman
Sounds like you guys are deciding the issue now. "....should have never been heard...." WTF? I guess the cases that the Court might potentially affirm as free speech are limited to those that Legion thinks should get that chance?

Guys, the courts decide these things. And the default position is yes, this is free speech. If you want to put a muzzle on someone, THAT'S what you go to court for. Not to get your rights affirmed. They are already. Until a court says otherwise, this fellow's rights have been violated.

Except that he's a minor and under the control of the school. That's relevant, I think.

Dear Diary,

On March 19th, Sup and I agree.

[teenerted1]

Originally posted by Superman


Except that he's a minor and under the control of the school. That's relevant, I think.

if the poster was across the street from the school. like the article says. that would be off school property and out of the schools jurisdiction in enforcing a school policy. thus their rights were violated and it shouldn't matter how old they are.

on school property might have some control what kids can put up...

[dafischer]

Cripes...you can't do ANYTHING anymore without getting someone's knickers in a twist!

[many944s]

Amen....
Why does anyone really give a sh**?

[CRH911S]

My son is dating a girl that was a senior at Juneau Douglas HS at the time. She says that school was released and participation was optional. Get this. Later that summer the kid was waiting for his girlfriend to come out of swimming practice and the police arrested him for being in possession of drug paraphenalia(sp). The case was dropped and the kid won a lawsuit against the city. Turns out the straw was in a McDonald's cup.

[john70t]

Mabye they can also ban all advertisments in public places as well.
Those are free-speach messages as well.

[widgeon13]

School principal must be an idiot to say anything in the first place, a complete waste of taxpayer's money but then again we do that all the time.

[CRH911S]

The principal, from what I understand went nuts and rushed across the street and ripped the banner up. I wonder if we'd be reading about this if it said instead, Bong hits for Saddam?

[Rick Lee]

It's been a while, but when I was a kid, the school could punish you severely for behavior that happened far from school property. I don't recall it ever happening for a fight that occured on a weekend, but I know it happened several times for fights that occured in someone's front yard hours after school had let out. And when I was in a prep school, they could and did take severe disciplinary action for behavior which was in any way "unbecoming" of a student or made the school look bad. I don't think minors should ever be immune from an adult authority figure trying to impose some common sense discipline where it's sorely needed. But then I'm an old curmudgeon at the tender age of 35.

[Rick Lee]

Actually Noah, I would fully expect public schools, or any responsible adult for that matter, to be able to discipline unruly kids just about anywhere. If my kids are in public school and during non-school hours get unruly at a mall or wherever and the gym teacher happens to see it happen, I'd be very supportive of him stepping in. I just don't see the benefit of teaching kids that anytime they're not in school or on school property, they can do whatever they want and anyone who tries to stop is violtating this or that right. I know my folks would have been very happy to have any responsible adult anywhere, anytime step in if I were out of line. And I don't think protests of my rights being violated would have gotten me anywhere.

[Rick Lee]

Any kid who does what this one did obviously doesn't have enough parental supervision at home, so the school needs to step in. Sad, but true.