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Vendaval -> "High court hears 'Bong hits 4 Jesus' case" (3/22/2007 6:26:55 PM)
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"High court hears 'Bong hits 4 Jesus' case" POSTED: 6:58 p.m. EDT, March 19, 2007 By Bill Mears
CNN Washington Bureau
" WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The Supreme Court Monday debated the case of a high school principal who suspended a student over a "Bong Hits 4 Jesus," banner displayed at a school-sponsored event.
The free-speech case tests the limits of student messages officials could try to suppress.
Joseph Frederick, then 18, unveiled the 14-foot paper sign on a public sidewalk outside his Juneau, Alaska, high school. Principal Deborah Morse confiscated it and later suspended the young man.
At issue was whether Frederick's free-speech rights were violated and the discretion schools should be allowed to limit messages that appear to advocate illegal drug use. (Watch why "bong hits" are on the court's plate [image]http://i.a.cnn.net/cnn/.element/img/1.5/main/icon_video.gif[/image])
"Bong," as noted in the appeal filed with the justices, "is a slang term for drug paraphernalia." "
(Scroll to bottom of the article)
" Frederick is teaching English to students in China and did not attend the oral arguments. The 24-year-old told reporters two weeks ago that he displayed the banner in a deliberate attempt to provoke a response from principal Morse.
"I find it absurdly funny," he said. "I was not promoting drugs. ... I assumed most people would take it as a joke."
A ruling is expected by late June. "
http://www.cnn.com/2007/LAW/03/19/free.speech/index.html
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