What’s that?  You don’t feel like clicking on those links?  Well…damn.  So, there’s this high school kid in Alaska who held up a sign that read (are you ready for it?) “Bong Hits 4 Jesus” as the Olympic torch passed by his school.  The school had let the kids out to watch the torch being passed.  The event was authorized by the school, but it took place off-campus on a sidewalk (a traditional public forum – a location given the highest level of first amendment protection).  The principal quickly took away the sign and suspended the student. 

 
So, what’s the big deal?  The kid was being a smart-ass and the school can discipline for disruptive behavior, right?  Yes, that’s true.  But, the kid was engaging in speech, which some of you may recall is protected by the First Amendment.  The Federal District Court (where the actual trial took place) found in favor of the school and also found that their authority to discipline students extended to off-campus, school sponsored events.
 

What happens after you lose a case?  You appeal it.  Because this is a constitutional issue, this kind of case is filed in FEDERAL court (hence, I said “District Court”…but that’s confusing in Nebraska because the state court is also called the District Court.  Damn you, Nebraska!  You caused me so many problems in Civil Procedure last year!).  You appeal a federal case to the Court of Appeals.  The kid was in Alaska, so it went to the 9^th Circuit.
 

So, you’re probably thinking, I don’t want to have to go through that AGAIN!  Well, you probably won’t have to worry about that.  When you appeal a case, it’s not so much “I want a do-over” as “Look!  I should have won.”  You’re saying that there was some error that occurred (and this basically led to the wrong outcome).  The court of appeals involves several judges looking at all the evidence and the decision of the lower court.  Then, they’ll decide whether or not to reverse or affirm the lower court’s decision.
 

The 9^th Circuit found that the kid’s free speech rights were violated, so they vacated the decision and remanded the case.  This decision resulted from the LEADING (oooh…exciting) case on student speech, Tinker v. Des Moines Independent County School District (1969).  Want the citation?  393 U.S. 503.  (I will never, ever complain about MLA or APA ever again.)  Anyway, this case involved students who wore black armbands to school in order to protest the Vietnam War.  The court held that the school could only restrict a student’s private speech only if it materially and substantially interferes with school operations, not merely because the student advocates a position contrary to government policy.
 

Of course, schools can also restrict student speech for being plainly offensive (which, I guess substantially interferes with school operations).
 

Would you like to read the 9^th Circuit Court of Appeals opinion?  (The opinion is the court’s decision.  They’ll recap the facts, the issues, the arguments, and they’ll state their opinion and will usually include their reasoning.)  Court opinions are what comprise my textbooks.  It’s fun.  (http://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/ca9/newopinions.nsf/11BBADA028A095D58825712D00016761/$file/0335701.pdf?openelement)
 

ANYWAY, what happens when you lose your appeal?  You appeal to the Supreme Court.  Chances are, they’ll deny certiori and you’re stuck with the court of appeals decision.  But, if you’re one of the lucky few chosen, you get a trip to the Supreme Court.  Yay!
 

This involves writing a “brief” explaining how the court of appeals erred.  (Funny story, it’s pronounced URD and not AIRED.  Don’t ask me, I didn’t make the rules.)  Now, you don’t say things like “Plaintiff” or “Defendant”, but you say “Appellant” (or Petitioner) and “Appellee” (or Respondant).  The other side files a brief; and you both get all of your friends to write amicus briefs.  (Briefs are long papers explaining your position and talking about a bunch of case law and maybe even discussing public policy and how Oh-So-Important your case is and The-World-Will-End if the Supreme Court doesn’t hear the case.) 
 

The Supreme Court will read basically everything submitted up to that point, and then you’ll get to do an oral argument.  The oral argument is where you get up in front of the justices and say why you should win.  The justices will interrupt you and ask you questions and sometimes be total jerks.  You have a set amount of time in which you can talk, and you are NOT allowed to interrupt the opposing counsel.

 
**Side note:  1Ls have to do an oral argument for Legal Writing, and it’s damn scary.  It’s not like a speech that you memorize because you are constantly interrupted and have to be cognizant of your time.   But, I do remember how I STARTED my argument: May it please the court.  Counsel (courteous nod to the opposition).  My name is xxxxxxxx and along with my co-counsel, xxxxxxxxx, we represent the appellants, Roger, Caitlin, and Molly Moore.
 

So, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments for this Bong Hits 4 Jesus case last week.  The school says that the event was school-sponsored and argued that the school has a right to prevent speech that encourages illegal activities.  So, they focused on the *drug* aspect of the case (the Bong, if you will).
 

The student’s counsel focused two arguments: first, they argued that the event took place off school grounds, therefore the school couldn’t restrict the kid’s speech.  Then, they argued that even if was a school-sponsored event where the school could get involved, then the court should use the reasoning in the Tinker case where the standard was whether the speech was disruptive and materially and substantially interfered with school operations. 

 
Would you like to read the transcript from the oral arguments?  It’s fun.  Then you can make random comments about the Supreme Court justices like “Oh no he di’int!” and “O’Connor would have never let that slide.” or even, “I didn’t know you had it in you, Alito.”  At one point, Justice Kennedy says “Rape is fun.”  (Yes, I took that completely out of context.)  (http://www.oyez.org/cases/2000-2009/2006/2006_06_278/argument/)

 
Why do I care?  Well, it's funny.  Bong Hits 4 Jesus! Hee!

AND... it was mentioned in two different classes last week for three days straight.  Of course, one of those classes was Constitutional Law II, and that class focuses on the First Amendment.  So, yeah... kind of expected.

On that note...

 
Do you have Constitutional Law questions for me?  Please, ask.  It’ll help me to study.

 
Want to exercise your free speech rights?  Engage in political speech while standing on a public sidewalk (but not a sidewalk that is only a few feet long and serves solely to connect a parking lot with a building).  Go ahead.  Pass out some “political literature” while you’re at it.  Or self-publish a newsletter that discusses your favorite TV show.  Disagree with a politician.  Call a radio station.