Bethel School District No. 403 v. Fraser 1986

• Author: Daniel Brannen, Richard Hanes, Elizabeth Shaw
• Pages: 232-236

Contenidos

• School assembly.
• Fraser sues.
• Fraser loses.
• No warning.
• Suggestions for further reading.

Page 232

Petitioners: Bethel School District, et al.

Respondents: Matthew N. Fraser, et al.

Petitioners' Claim: That punishing Fraser for using offensive language in high school assembly speech did not violate the freedom of speech.

Chief Lawyer for Petitioners: William A. Coats

Chief Lawyer for Respondents: Jeffrey T. Haley

Justices for the Court: Harry A. Blackmun, William J. Brennan, Jr., Warren E. Burger, Sandra Day O'Connor, Lewis F. Powell, Jr., William H. Rehnquist, Byron R. White

Justices Dissenting: Thurgood Marshall, John Paul Stevens

Date of Decision: July 7, 1986

Decision: Bethel High School did not violate the freedom of speech by punishing Fraser.

Significance: Bethel says students in school have less freedom of speech than adults in public. Schools can encourage good values by punishing offensive speech that people may use outside school.

Page 233

The First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution protects the freedom of speech in America. It says, "Congress shall make no law . . . abridging [limiting] the freedom of speech." State and local governments must obey the freedom of speech under the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The Due Process Clause prevents state and local governments from violating a person's right to life, liberty (or freedom), and property.

In Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School (1969), the Supreme Court said that students do not lose their freedom of speech when they go to school. Students, like adults, are people under the Constitution, so they are also protected by the First Amendment. In Tinker, the Court said that schools can limit free speech only when it interferes with learning.

School assembly

Matthew N. Fraser was an outstanding student at Bethel High School in Pierce County, Washington. In April 1983, Fraser prepared to give a speech at a school assembly. The assembly was part of a school program to teach about government. In his speech, Fraser would nominate a fellow classmate, Jeff Kuhlman, as student vice-president. Fraser prepared a speech that referred to Kuhlman using many metaphors about male sexuality.

Before the assembly, Fraser shared his speech with three teachers. One teacher told Fraser that the speech was inappropriate and that Fraser "probably should not deliver it." Another said the speech would cause problems "in that it would raise eyebrows."...