WASHINGTON, March 18 (UPI) -- The U.S. Supreme Court is set to hear argument in a Juneau, Alaska, case that might further define the free-speech rights of high school students.
In a 1969 case, the high court ruled that students had the right to wear black armbands during the Vietnam War, but in two others in the 1980s, the court said schools had the right to ban offensive speech, as opposed to political speech, and control the content of student newspapers.
The case scheduled for argument Monday involves Joseph Frederick, a student at Juneau-Douglas High School and his principal, Deborah Morse.
The case has taken on overtones of freedom of religion as well as freedom of speech, The New York Times said.
Five years ago, as the Olympic torch was carried through Juneau on its way to the 2002 games in Salt Lake City, students were allowed to leave class in order to watch. In front of television cameras, Frederick and some of his friends unveiled a 14-foot banner reading "Bong Hits 4 Jesus." When Morse ordered Frederick to remove the banner, he refused and Morse gave him a 10-day suspension. The student then went to court.
Now, the Times said, the case has sparked an intense debate over freedom of religious speech.
The Bush administration is siding with Morse and the school, as is former independent counsel Kenneth Starr and his law firm. But many of the administration's allies on the religious right, concerned that religious speech might also be curtailed, are supporting Frederick, who was the winner in the lower courts.
