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| Lower Court: | Eighth Circuit |
| Lower Court Ruling: | Held: The decision of the faculty advisor of a school newspaper to prohibit the publishing of certain student articles deemed to be inappropriate violates the student authors' First Amendment right of freedom of speech. |
| Supreme Court Ruling: | Held: Reversed the decision of the Eighth Circuit. The decision of the faculty advisor of a school newspaper to prohibit the publishing of certain articles deemed to be inappropriate does not violate the student authors' First Amendment right of freedom of speech. |
| Supreme Court Vote: | 5-3 |
| Argued: | October 13, 1987 |
| Decided: | January 13, 1988 |
| Majority Opinion: | Justice J. White |
| Dissenting Opinion: | Justice J. Brennan (joined by Justices T. Marshal and JJ. Blackman dissenting) |
Facts
Students enrolled in the Journalism II class at Hazelwood East High School were responsible for writing and editing the school's paper The Spectrum. Two of the articles submitted for publication in the final edition of the paper contained stories on divorce and teenage pregnancy. The divorce article featured a story about a girl who blamed her father's actions for her parents' divorce. The teenage pregnancy article featured stories in which pregnant students at Hazelwood East shared their experiences. To ensure their privacy, the girls' names were changed in the article. The Journalism II teacher felt that the subjects of these two articles were inappropriate. He concluded that journalistic fairness required that the father in the divorce article be informed of the story and be given an opportunity to comment. He also stated his concerns that simply changing the names of the girls in the teenage pregnancy article may not be sufficient to protect their anonymity and that this topic may not be suitable for the younger students. As a result, he prohibited these articles from being published in the paper. Because there was no time to edit the paper if it were to go to press before the end of the school year, the teacher eliminated the entire pages on which these articles were written. The student authors then brought suit to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, alleging that their First Amendment rights to freedom of speech had been violated. The U.S. District Court concluded that they were not. The students appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, which reversed the ruling, stating that the students' rights had been violated. The school appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, which granted certiorari.
Issue
Does the decision of a journalism teacher to prohibit the publishing of certain articles, which he deems inappropriate, in the school newspaper violate the student authors' First Amendment right of freedom of speech?
- The First Amendment protects the right to freedom of speech.
- The Spectrum was written by students in the Journalism II course as part of the requirements of that course.
- The articles in question contained stories on divorce and teenage pregnancy. The subjects of both of these stories were students at Hazelwood East High School.
- The divorce article featured a story in which a girl blamed her father's actions for her parents' divorce, but the author did not adhere to journalistic standards by informing the father of the story and giving him an opportunity to respond.
- Although their names were changed, the journalism teacher was concerned that students may be able to recognize the identity of the girls who were interviewed for the pregnancy article.
Oral Arguments
Framework for Supreme Court Oral Arguments (Suggested time: 40 minutes)
The teacher divides the students into three groups. The first group consists of justices. One justice is designated as the Chief Justice. The second group consists of lawyers for Hazelwood School District (which represents Hazelwood East High School). The third group consists of lawyers for the student authors, including Kuhlmeier. Hazelwood School District is known as the petitioner. Kuhlmeier is known as the respondent.
Procedures
If there is a large number of students present, the student lawyers for both the respondent and petitioner select three persons to present their case to the Court. Two lawyers present the main case to the Court. The third lawyer presents the rebuttal case. Justices may ask questions of the attorneys after the first two minutes of presenting the case.
Note
It is important to remember that this is a simulation of oral arguments in the Supreme Court and not a trial. No evidence is collected and witnesses are not called. The lawyers for both sides are simply putting forth their best legal arguments to, and answering any questions that, the justices may have.
Oral Arguments
- The Chief Justice swears in student justices.
- The Court timekeeper signals time limits to speakers.
- The teacher chooses a student marshal who announces Court using the Supreme Court cry.
- The Chief Justice calls the Court to order, announces the case, and asks the petitioner to begin.
- Student attorneys for petitioner argue (10 minutes).
- Student attorneys for respondent argue (10 minutes).
- Student attorney for petitioner-rebuttal (5 minutes).
- Student attorney for respondent-rebuttal (5 minutes).
- Justices deliberate-in front of audience (5 minutes).
- A justice in the majority announces decision(s) from the bench, each student justice explains rationale to the audience (5 minutes).
Some Considerations for the Justices
Following are points that the student justices might want to consider as they prepare questions to ask the lawyers:
- What is an open-ended question? Give some examples.
- What is the best way to get at the heart of an issue? How do you find the core issue?
- Apply the lawyers' arguments to a similar situation that has some different facts. Ask the lawyers whether their arguments would still hold up in that situation.
- Play devil's advocate. Purposely try to find exceptions to the lawyers' argument and point them out to the lawyer. What would be the appropriate response under these circumstances?
Assignment
After completing this activity, the teacher may assign the students to write a news article about this case as if they were journalists covering the Supreme Court.
After completing the oral arguments, the teacher informs the students of the actual decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in this case and discusses it with them. A summary of the holding and a list of potential discussion starters are provided below.
Holding
The U.S. Supreme Court held that the journalism teacher's actions did not violate the students' free speech rights. The Court noted that the paper was sponsored by the school and, as such, the school had a legitimate interest in preventing the publication of articles that it deemed inappropriate and that might appear to have the imprimatur of the school. Specifically, the Court noted that the paper was not intended as a public forum in which everyone could share views; rather, it was a limited forum for journalism students to write articles pursuant to the requirements of their Journalism II class, and subject to appropriate editing by the school.
Discussion Starters
- What is the difference between editing and censorship?
- Do you agree with the Supreme Court's decision?
- The Supreme Court effectively said that the school authorities could censor The Spectrum. Can you think of any instances in which school authorities should or should not determine the appropriateness of subject matter?
- Just because the Supreme Court said that school authorities may have the final word, does this mean that they should? Besides newspapers, what other forms of expression might school authorities control as a result of the Court's decision in this case?
- Does the Supreme Court's decision mean that school authorities can determine what is and is not appropriate in a school-funded paper?
- Could the journalism teacher prevent the publication of articles criticizing the school's administration by saying that they are inappropriate?
- Would the ruling in this case have been different if the school newspaper were written by members of an extracurricular club and not a journalism class?
Resources
First Amendment Center
Haynes, Charles C., et al. The First Amendment in Schools: A Guide from the First Amendment Center. Virginia. ASCD (Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development) publications, 2003.
Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier, 484 U.S. 260 (1986) (Majority and dissenting opinions) at www.bc.edu/bc_org/avp/cas/comm/free_speech/hazelwood.html.
Raskin, Jamin B. We the Students: Supreme Court Cases for and About Students, 2nd ed. Washington, D.C. Congressional Quarterly Press, 2003.