High Court Rejects School's Appeal in Anti-Bush T-shirt Case

In another law.com article, the Supreme Court has rejected an appeal by a school district over a ruling that it violated a student's rights by censoring his T-shirt.

A seventh-grader from Vermont was suspended for wearing a shirt that bore images of cocaine and a martini glass -- but also had messages calling President Bush a lying drunk driver who abused cocaine and marijuana, and the "chicken-hawk-in-chief" who was engaged in a "world domination tour."

After his suspension, Zachary Guiles returned to school with duct tape covering the offending images.

Williamstown Middle School Principal Kathleen Morris-Kortz said the images violated the school dress code, which prohibits clothing that promotes the use of drugs or alcohol.

An appeals court said the school had no right to censor any part of the shirt.

On Monday, the Court said schools could regulate student expression if it advocated illegal drug use. Justice Samuel Alito cautioned that schools could not censor political speech.

Far more than "Bong Hits 4 Jesus," a nonsensical phrase according to the student, this is an example of political free speech by a student. It seems to me this is a correct application of the Court's new rule.