So in what must be the 4th or 5th major legal landmark in the last few weeks, the American Civil Liberties Union has filed a federal lawsuit against a high-school principal who suspended a former student for posting negative opinions about a teacher on Facebook.
In this case the ACLU, on behalf of the student, claims that the school suspension violated the student's First Amendment right to free speech. Now I may be a bit dated here, but this is basically the same thing I might have "allegedly" been suspended for writing something about a teacher on a bathroom wall.....except the element of vandalism doesn't apply since the "wall" in this case is virtual. Now I'm no lawyer (nor do I play one on TV, like this guy) but in
my opinion, both parties in this case have their heads buried in some inferior/posterior location. In the case of the girl, she wasn't exactly prevented from exercising her right to free speech, but merely suffered consequences for what she wrote. In an analogy, could one not expect to be fired from a job if they were caught slamming their boss? Granted, she didn't exactly slander the teacher or post hate speech, but still. . . .in calling out a superior by name in a public forum, she had to do so knowing there was at least a risk of some consequence. And in the case of the principal. . . .the student was soliciting opinions, albeit not very nice, on an internet site that had no affiliation with the school whatsoever. It seems he's on somewhat shaky grounds as well.
my opinion, both parties in this case have their heads buried in some inferior/posterior location. In the case of the girl, she wasn't exactly prevented from exercising her right to free speech, but merely suffered consequences for what she wrote. In an analogy, could one not expect to be fired from a job if they were caught slamming their boss? Granted, she didn't exactly slander the teacher or post hate speech, but still. . . .in calling out a superior by name in a public forum, she had to do so knowing there was at least a risk of some consequence. And in the case of the principal. . . .the student was soliciting opinions, albeit not very nice, on an internet site that had no affiliation with the school whatsoever. It seems he's on somewhat shaky grounds as well.For those of you keeping score, over the last month we've had a criminal conviction in federal court for "causing" a suicide online (where no legal precedent existed), civil charges in another for writing unflattering prose about an ex-spouse on Craigslist, and now an ACLU-spearheaded 1st Amendment suit over a high-school suspension. The legal avalanche is coming folks, get yer snowshoes ready!
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