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Court hears arguments in speech case
By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published March 20, 2007
WASHINGTON - A high school senior's 14-foot banner proclaiming "Bong Hits 4 Jesus" gave the Supreme Court a provocative prop for a lively argument Monday about the extent of schools' control over student speech. If the justices conclude Joseph Frederick's homemade sign was a pro-drug message, they are likely to side with principal Deborah Morse. She suspended Frederick in 2002 when he unfurled the banner across the street from the school in Juneau, Alaska. He sued, saying his free-speech rights were violated. "I thought we wanted our schools to teach something ...including the character formation and not to use drugs," Chief Justice John Roberts said Monday. But the court could rule for Frederick if it determines that he was, as he has contended, conducting a free-speech experiment using a nonsensical message that contained no pitch for drug use. "It sounds like just a kid's provocative statement to me," Justice David Souter said. Former independent counsel Kenneth Starr, who is representing Morse, argued that the justices should defer to the judgment of the principal. Morse reasonably interpreted the banner as a pro-drug message, Starr said. Douglas Mertz of Juneau, Frederick's lawyer, struggled to keep the focus away from drugs. "This is a case about free speech," he said. A decision in the case is expected by July.
[Last modified March 20, 2007, 02:12:21]
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