Posted on 11/22/2006 7:27:59 AM PST by SmithL
An Anderson County student suspended twice this fall for wearing items with the rebel flag on them has filed a federal lawsuit alleging that school officials trampled on his constitutional rights.
The lawsuit on behalf of Tom DeFoe, a senior at Anderson County High School, and his father, Phil DeFoe, was filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Knoxville.
The teen's rights of free speech and equal protection have been violated by crackdowns on a vague county school dress code, the complaint states.
Tom DeFoe was suspended from Anderson County High School in late October for wearing a T-shirt with the Confederate flag on it and refusing to either take it off or wear it inside-out, the complaint states.
According to the lawsuit, that shirt was captioned, "If you have a problem with this flag you need a history lesson."
The teen was then suspended from Anderson County Career and Technical School earlier this month because he declined to cover or remove a belt buckle bearing the rebel flag's image, the complaint states.
The complaint says the teenager is simply trying to express pride in his Southern heritage.
"My client has no history of disciplinary problems," said Van R. Irion, a Knoxville attorney affiliated with the Southern Legal Resource Center. "He doesn't like having his school telling him he's a racist because he's displaying the Confederate flag."
The SLRC is a nonprofit legal foundation that says it defends "the rights of Southerners to honor their culture and heritage," according to its Web site.
Irion is the lead attorney in a similar federal case involving students at William Blount High School who wore apparel with Confederate flags on them.
That Blount County school has had several incidents of racial strife that officials said prompted the rebel flag ban. Split into two cases, those complaints await trial.
Irion said the Anderson County case is more straightforward because there have been no allegations of racial unrest possibly sparked by displays of the rebel flag.
The Anderson County lawsuit alleges that school officials have "failed to produce facts that justify their ban."
Students are allowed to wear clothing with "other expressions of political or controversial significance," the complaint states.
The Anderson County school system's dress code policy is vague, overbroad and gives school officials "unbridled discretion" to enforce the guidelines in a discriminatory manner, the lawsuit alleges.
Nowhere in the policy is the rebel flag specifically banned, and the guidelines give school officials the final say-so on whether a students' clothing is "acceptable," according to the code.
The complaint seeks injunctive relief and a declaration that the teen's actions weren't unconstitutional. It also asks that his student records be wiped clean of any disciplinary actions prompted by the flag-wearing episodes.
Defendants are the county school board and its chairman, John Burrell, school system director V.L. Stonecipher, Sid Spiva and Merl Krull, the principal and assistant principal, respectively, of the vocational school, and Anderson County High School Principal Greg Deal.
First of all, if he is not 18, he has no constitutional rights.
Second of all, I hate that the Confederate Flag has become such a symbol of shame for people in the south. My great great whatever Grandfather died under that flag. Agree with it or not, it's emotional to alot of people and not because they hate black people.
Remember this kid is a White American Male, we don't have any rights anymore. Now if he a was A Muslim with kill an infidel on the shirt, that would be o.k. What Bull$hit!
I don't feel any shame in it, i'm proud of my Southern Heritage. Like I said in an earlier post we don't have equal rights under rules or laws. All you have to do is watch the Evening news for 10 minutes to realize this. If they're going to enforce this policy than everybody in the school should be treated the same way, which is definately not going to happen because some minority will have his civil rights trampled on.
Like it or not, the fourteenth amendment say he has constitutional rights, which include due process.
I hope he never decides to run for office as a republican. There's no statute of limitations on complaints about republicans who once "had an unnatural affection" for the confederate flag.
Uhm, could you explain that to me? I don't remember a qualifier in the USC that puts an age limit on rights. I could be wrong.
FMCDH(BITS)
My grandson must attend school with kids who have 75% of their underwear exposed, refuse to attempt standard English speech patterns, do drugs and steal hubcaps in their spare time, and the schools have time to worry about crap like this? Give me a break.
I've try hard not to let the prejudices of my childhood rule me, but it just isn't working. No one cares what I find offensive.
>>>Like it or not, the fourteenth amendment say he has constitutional rights, which include due process.>>>
In a court of law, not in school dress code
I am a Yankee, but as an American, I am proud of my Southern Heritage also!
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