Dec 11, 2008 6:00 am US/Eastern
MySpace Freedom Of Speech Case Heads To Court
PHILADELPHIA (CBS 3) ―
Just a block from where one of the nation's most prized rights was conceived – the freedom of speech – a panel of federal judges is deciding to what extent that freedom applies to public school students on the internet.
The case centers on a Western Pennsylvania high school senior, Justin Layshock, who got in serious trouble at school when he put together a MySpace page posing as – and making fun of – his school principal.
"They threw the book at him," said Witold Walczak, an attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union, which has taken on Layshock's case. "Short of expulsion, they couldn't have hammered Justin any harder."
But Layshock made the Web site at his grandmother's home, not on school property. Still, he was suspended, put into an alternative education program and restricted from extracurricular activities.
He "posted a mock profile of his principal on MySpace. It made fun of his size," said Walczak.
On the MySpace page, Layshock used the word "big" time and again to describe Eric Trosch, principal of Hickory High School in Hermitage, Pa. Layshock also made some derogatory and profane comments.
"Too drunk to remember," is how Layshock described Trosch's previous birthday. He also said Trosch had a "big keg" behind his desk.
"It's still a pretty murky area of the law," said Temple University Law and Government professor Mark Rahdert. "The problem here is the activity is occurring outside the school, off premises and after hours … It's going to be a difficult call how far the school's authority can extend outside school property."
"There has to be a limit on school officials' ability to wash Justin's mouth out with soap when he's being rude when he's in his own house," says Walczak. "That's the parent's responsibility."
And so far, the courts seem to agree. A federal district court in Pittsburgh already ruled the Hermitage School District violated Layshock's First Amendment rights.
Not so, says an attorney for the district, which is appealing the case to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals.
"As you know with Columbine, the school violence we have, all the other issues, the school districts are put in quite a spot," says Tony Sanchez, a school district lawyer. He argues the internet reaches everywhere.
"I don't think the clear lines that existed in 1969 with what encompasses on campus behavior and off campus behavior are clear anymore."
And Sanchez argues Layshock violated district property by taking the picture of Trosch, the principal, off the district's Web site.
"The internet and Web sites are as much a school district campus as the school house," Sanchez says.
A three judge panel from the Third Circuit heard arguments from both sides Wednesday afternoon. It will likely be several weeks before the judges issue a decision.
Both sides, at least, agree on one thing:
"It certainly is an area of the law that could use some clarification," said Walczak.
(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
Hottest Celebrity Redheads
Click to enlarge
Winter Weather To Wallop Region Again 46 mins ago 
Stumble It!
Reporting
Comments