Question 1

In the 2010 case of Christian Legal Society v.Martinez,the Supreme Court said that a public law school could deny a religious student organization official campus status because:

Accepted Answer

The Supreme Court ruled that the public law school could deny official campus status to the Christian Legal Society because their bylaws discriminated against individuals based on their religion and sexual orientation. This went against the school's policy of non-discrimination and was therefore not protected by the First Amendment.

Question 2

In 2007,the Tenth Circuit held that former editors of a university newspaper who had graduated did not have standing in court to challenge the reassignment of their former faculty adviser.The case:

Accepted Answer

Lane v. Simon is the case where the Tenth Circuit held that former editors of a university newspaper who had graduated did not have standing in court to challenge the reassignment of their former faculty adviser.

Question 3

A federal appeals court overturned a high school principal's sanction of students who distributed an unofficial newspaper without submitting it for prior review,holding that the prior review requirement violated the First Amendment.The case:

Accepted Answer

Burch v. Barker is a case that directly addresses the issue of a high school principal sanctioning students for distributing an unofficial newspaper without prior review, which was found to violate the First Amendment rights of the students.

Question 4

The theft of student newspapers by someone or some group offended by the content is becoming increasingly commonplace.A 2003 federal court decision may help student editors who face newspaper theft even though the case did not involve a student newspaper.The court held that a publisher's rights were violated when sheriff's deputies purchased all available copies of a newspaper critical of the sheriff on the eve of an election.The case:

Accepted Answer

Rossignol v. Voorhaar is the case where the court held that a publisher's rights were violated when sheriff's deputies purchased all available copies of a newspaper critical of the sheriff on the eve of an election. This decision is relevant to situations involving the theft of student newspapers due to content objections.

Question 5

The Supreme Court upheld disciplinary action against a student who made an offensive speech at an assembly at a public high school in the case of:

Accepted Answer

In this case, the Supreme Court upheld disciplinary action against a student who made an offensive speech at an assembly at a public high school. The court ruled that the school has the authority to prohibit lewd or offensive speech that is inconsistent with the school's basic educational mission. This decision established that schools may punish students for obscene, vulgar or offensive speech even if it does not cause a substantial disruption.

Question 6

In Dariano v.Morgan Hill Unified Sch.Dist. ,what did the Ninth Circuit say about barring students from wearing American flag t-shirts during Cinco de Mayo in a California public school?

Accepted Answer

The Ninth Circuit held that the decision to bar students from wearing American flag t-shirts during Cinco de Mayo was acceptable due to past incidents of violence and disruption. This decision was based on the school's responsibility to ensure the safety and order of the school environment, acknowledging that past events justified the precautionary measures taken by the school administrators.

Question 7

The Supreme Court in 2007 rejected a high school student's claim that the school principal violated his First Amendment rights by suspending him for displaying a banner near the campus that read,"Bong Hits 4 Jesus." The case:

Accepted Answer

This case involved a high school student who displayed a banner with the words "Bong Hits 4 Jesus" during a school-sponsored event. The principal suspended him, and the student claimed that his First Amendment rights had been violated. The Supreme Court ruled that schools may limit student speech that promotes drug use, even if it does not cause a disruption or interfere with the educational mission of the school. This case established that schools have a responsibility to maintain a drug-free and safe environment for students, which may include limiting student speech that promotes illegal or harmful activities.

Question 8

The Supreme Court first ruled that public school students may exercise First Amendment rights on campus unless they interfere with the rights of others or disrupt school order and discipline in the case of:

Accepted Answer

The Tinker v. Community School District case established that students do not "shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression" at school and can only be limited if their speech causes a material and substantial disruption to the school environment. This standard has been upheld in subsequent cases, making it the correct answer.

Question 9

The U.S.Supreme Court ruled that the First Amendment does not ordinarily protect officially sponsored high school newspapers from administrative censorship in the case of:

Accepted Answer

The case of Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier established that school administrators can censor school-sponsored newspapers if the censorship is reasonably related to legitimate pedagogical concerns. This ruling limited the protection of the First Amendment for high school newspapers compared to the Tinker decision, which protected students' rights to express their opinions as long as it did not cause a substantial and material disruption of school activities. The other cases listed do not specifically pertain to censorship of high school newspapers.

Question 10

In 2005,the Seventh Circuit said the First Amendment does not necessarily bar administrators from censoring a financially subsidized student newspaper at a public university.The case:

Accepted Answer

The case mentioned in the question is Hosty v. Carter, which was decided by the Seventh Circuit in 2005. In this case, the court held that administrators at a public university could censor a financially subsidized student newspaper. This decision limited the protection of the First Amendment for student journalists at public universities.

Question 11

In 2001,the Sixth Circuit overruled the administrative censorship of a student publication at a public university,upholding its First Amendment rights.The case:

Accepted Answer

Kincaid v. Gibson is the case where the Sixth Circuit overruled the administrative censorship of a student publication at a public university, upholding its First Amendment rights. This decision emphasized the importance of protecting freedom of expression in educational settings.

Question 12

Increasingly before the courts in cases such as Doninger v.Niehoff from the Second Circuit are schools' attempts to regulate:

Accepted Answer

The case of Doninger v. Niehoff dealt with a student's off-campus speech, specifically a blog post criticizing school administrators for canceling a concert. This case highlights the tension between a student's First Amendment rights and a school's authority to regulate student speech that may disrupt the educational environment. As such, schools are increasingly attempting to regulate off-campus speech by students.

Question 13

The Fourth Circuit in the 2013 case Hardwick v.Heyward said that the existence of racial tension in a South Carolina school district justified the administration's prohibition on:

Accepted Answer

The Fourth Circuit in the case Hardwick v. Heyward held that the prohibition on wearing Confederate flag shirts was justified by the existence of racial tension in the South Carolina school district. The court reasoned that the Confederate flag had been used as a symbol of hate and racial oppression, and that allowing students to wear it could have a negative impact on the educational environment. Therefore, option C is the correct choice.

Quiz 14: Freedom of the Student Press