Posted on 08/18/2005 3:33:01 PM PDT by dukeman
Federal court rules in favor of student and grants permanent injunction sought by ADF-allied attorneys
COLUMBUS, Ohio-- A federal district court today ruled in favor of attorneys allied with the Alliance Defense Fund and ordered an Ohio school district to respect the First Amendment rights of a student, declaring its treatment of the student unconstitutional.
The Northern Local School District prohibited the student, James Nixon, from wearing a T-shirt that one school official deemed "offensive" and "potentially disruptive" even though no disruption actually occurred.
"The Constitution does not permit censorship based upon what someone thinks 'might' happen," said ADF-allied attorney Rick Nelson of the American Liberties Institute based in Orlando, Fla. "The court has done the right thing by protecting our client's ability to exercise his First Amendment right to wear his T-shirt if he so chooses."
Nixon wore a black T-shirt with white lettering to school as a seventh grade student at Sheridan Middle School in Thornville on September 1 of last year. The front of the T-shirt contained a Bible verse; the back contained Nixon's viewpoint on homosexuality, Islam, and abortion. After learning of Nixon's T-shirt, school and district officials decided the T-shirt's message violated the district's Student Code of Conduct and prohibited Nixon from wearing the shirt to school.
According to the opinion issued today by U.S. District Court Judge George Smith in the case, Nixon v. Northern Local School District Board of Education, "there is no evidence that James' silent, passive expression of opinion interfered with the work of Sheridan Middle School or collided with the rights of other students to be let alone. Therefore, the Court rejects defendants' assertion that James' T-shirt invaded on the rights of others."
"Other students' mere disagreement with the message on James' T-shirt is not enough to outweigh James' constitutional right to free expression," Smith added. The full text of the court's opinion and order can be read at www.telladf.org/UserDocs/NixonOpinion.pdf.
"There was no legally acceptable basis for the school's actions; therefore, the court rightly declared its treatment of James unconstitutional," Nelson explained. "This is an important victory for the free religious expression rights of students in America's public schools."
ADF is also involved in a similar lawsuit in California involving a Poway High School student who was prohibited from wearing a T-shirt to school that expressed his religious views on homosexual behavior.
ADF is America's largest legal alliance defending religious liberty through strategy, training, funding, and litigation.
Uniforms. No slogans. No T-Shirts.
What did the shirt actually say? (Or did I miss that?)
Will these school administrators never learn. I guess that's why they're still in school/
Seems to me some of our judges got brain injections lately.
"contained a Bible verse; the back contained Nixon's viewpoint on homosexuality, Islam, and abortion'
I'm happy with the ruling..but don't you find it odd that they do not print WHAT was said? By omission, the author implies that to print it would be offensive. I'm curious about what the T-shirt ACTUALLY said...does anyone know?
That must be the answer , and should we make the shirts brown?
In B4 the ZOT!!!
Oh wait, wrong thread.
Well, finally after a long dry spell, The Constitution scores a victory.
Tee shirts were not allowed per dress code when I was in school. The one rebel without a cause that was always flaunting the rules was eventually pulled out of school and sent to a military academy by his rich mother. He was trim, proper, and highly subdued next time we saw him.
INTOLERANT
Jesus said . . . I am the way, the truth and the life. John 14:6
The back of the shirt contains the following statements:
Homosexuality is a sin! Islam is a lie! Abortion is murder! Some issues are just black and white!
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1305
The front of the seventh-grader's black T-shirt proclaimed in white block letters: "INTOLERANT: Jesus said . . . I am the way, the truth and the life. John 14:6."
The back of the T-shirt read: "Homosexuality is a sin, Islam is a lie, abortion is murder. Some issues are just black and white!"
I could go along with school uniforms. Some people, though, have a very strong negative reaction to them.
Whoops. Lemme fix that URL:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1305601/posts
The front of the seventh-grader's black T-shirt proclaimed in white block letters: "INTOLERANT: Jesus said . . . I am the way, the truth and the life. John 14:6."
The back of the T-shirt read: "Homosexuality is a sin, Islam is a lie, abortion is murder. Some issues are just black and white!"
The battles are not over tee-shirts. These are beliefs these young people are forming. The court battles only weaken the resolve of those who are not committed yet to keep their view silent. Is this the desired result? No one should disagree with the current trend?
Nope. Different case, diffrent state. But I do feel safer knowing you're on guard.
The core issue here is not writing on t-shirts. It's about free expression, political correctness, and the growing-by-the-day insistence of the left that they have a RIGHT not to be OFFENDED. Political correctness is 100% about silencing opposition to the liberal viewpoint, and I'm thrilled to see it slapped down for once.
MM
I'm all for banning apparel in school that displays ANY wording, including designer names, but if they allow any wording at all, then this is the BEST NEWS!!!! Woo Hoo!
Not at all. I'm very glad to see teens who are passionate about Christ and morality. But that doesn't mean that it is always appropriate to wear a t-shirt expressing those views. If this boy's shirt is allowed at school then there is no reason to ban pro-gay or pro-abortion shirts, or even just plain vulgar shirts. It's not hard to imagine what a distracting learning environment this could lead to at the school. Leave the t-shirts at home and spend the time and energy on teaching math, English, science, and history instead.
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