PENNSYLVANIA -- The 3rd Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in
Pennsylvania ordered on Friday that the conflicting rulings in two student
online speech cases be vacated and heard by the full court in June.
This order nullifies the previous decisions, which were each made by
panels of three judges each, and will replace them with decisions made by the
entire panel of 3rd Circuit judges, after a hearing on June 3.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) represented the students in both
cases, which were both ruled on Feb. 4. In the case Layshock v. Hermitage
School District, a three-judge panel ruled in favor of high school student
Justin Layshock on his First Amendment claim.
Justin Layshock was a student at Hickory High School in Hermitage, Pa. when
he used an off-campus computer to create a fake MySpace page for Principal Eric
Trosch, which mockingly said Trosch used drugs, took steroids and engaged in
other deviant behavior. The court found Layshock's speech protected by the
First Amendment.
However, in J.S. v. Blue Mountain School District, a different
three-judge panel favored that school district's right to discipline students
for their speech.
J.S. is a female who, at the time, was a middle school student who also
used an off-campus computer to create a fake MySpace for middle school Principal
James McGonigle of Pennsylvania's Blue Mountain School District. This MySpace
page also made mocking accusations about McGonigle's behavior, using sexually
explicit language.
Sara Rose, a staff attorney with the ACLU of Pennsylvania, said the new
oral arguments for both cases will be heard en banc June 3, which means the
entire 3rd Circuit will hear the cases.
New decisions will be made for both cases, since they are factually
similar but the rulings pointed in opposite directions last time.
"The facts of both cases were so similar that it was very odd for
the court to reach two different decisions," Rose said.
The ACLU is hoping that the new rulings will both favor the students, Rose
said, since it is important to establish a standard for how far a school's
disciplinary reach extends.
"Our position is the same in both, which is that schools don't
have authority to restrict out of school speech," she said.
Student Press Law Center Executive Director Frank LoMonte said the standard must be set for off campus speech for the sake of both students and administrators/
