Supreme Court takes 'Bong Hits 4 Jesus' free speech case
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A high school student's controversial banner with the words "Bong Hits 4 Jesus," which led to his suspension, will be argued before the Supreme Court, in an unusual free speech dispute.
The justices Friday accepted an appeal from Juneau, Alaska, school board officials, after a federal appeals court allowed a lawsuit filed by the family of Joseph Frederick to proceed.
He was suspended in 2002 after he unfurled the sign -- a reference to marijuana use -- just outside school grounds when the Olympic torch relay was moving through the Alaskan capital, headed for the Salt Lake City Winter Games.
"Bong," as noted in the appeal filed with the justices, "is a slang term for drug paraphernalia."
-- CNN Supreme Court Producer Bill Mears
Link to story here
It cracks me up that they felt the need to specify what a bong was and that it was connected to marijuana use. I think some of the "younger" judges might be pretty clear on what it is -- and by younger, I mean the ones in their fifties and sixties.
Just so we're all clear here, using or possessing illegal drugs or drugs for which you do not have a prescription, is illegal. Talking about them is not. It has been proved in previous cases that high school students also have the right to free speech.
Your thoughts, opinions, amusement?
- kid A
The justices Friday accepted an appeal from Juneau, Alaska, school board officials, after a federal appeals court allowed a lawsuit filed by the family of Joseph Frederick to proceed.
He was suspended in 2002 after he unfurled the sign -- a reference to marijuana use -- just outside school grounds when the Olympic torch relay was moving through the Alaskan capital, headed for the Salt Lake City Winter Games.
"Bong," as noted in the appeal filed with the justices, "is a slang term for drug paraphernalia."
-- CNN Supreme Court Producer Bill Mears
Link to story here
It cracks me up that they felt the need to specify what a bong was and that it was connected to marijuana use. I think some of the "younger" judges might be pretty clear on what it is -- and by younger, I mean the ones in their fifties and sixties.
Just so we're all clear here, using or possessing illegal drugs or drugs for which you do not have a prescription, is illegal. Talking about them is not. It has been proved in previous cases that high school students also have the right to free speech.
Your thoughts, opinions, amusement?
- kid A