Bethel School District v. Fraser
Encyclopedia
Bethel School District v. Fraser, 478 U.S. 675 (1986), was a United States Supreme Court
decision involving free speech and public schools. Matthew Fraser was suspended from school for making a speech full of sexual double entendre
s at a school assembly
. The Supreme Court held that his suspension did not violate the First Amendment
.
high school senior, gave a speech nominating classmate Jeff Kuhlman for Associated Student Body Vice President
. The speech was filled with sexual innuendoes, but not obscenity, prompting disciplinary action from the administration.
Fraser's speech was as follows:
After appealing through the grievance procedures of his school, he was still found to be in violation of a school policy against disruptive behavior. These grounds later evolved to include obscenity at trial, but obscenity, according to Fraser, was not listed as grounds for his punishment in his initial hearing with school vice-principal Christy Blair. Fraser was suspended from school for three days as a result, was prohibited from speaking at his graduation ceremony, and his name was stricken from the ballot used to elect three graduation speakers. Fraser nonetheless was selected by a write-in vote which placed him second overall among the top three finishers, although Bethel High School administrators refused to accept the write-in vote as a valid result, and continued to deny Fraser the opportunity to speak at graduation.
With approval from his parents and help from ACLU
cooperating attorney Jeff Haley, Matt Fraser filed a lawsuit against the school authorities claiming a violation of his First Amendment right to free speech, and U.S. District Court judge Jack Tanner
ruled in his favor.
The school district then appealed to the US Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals which ruled in Fraser's favor with a broadly worded opinion. The school district asked the United States Supreme Court to consider the case and it agreed to do so.
Warren Burger delivered the Court's opinion, in what ended up along with the Gramm-Rudman decision to be the final case of the Burger Court era. Fraser refers to this as "the silver lining in the grim cloud of my defeat." Justices
William J. Brennan and Harry Blackmun
delivered concurring opinions, while Thurgood Marshall
and John Paul Stevens
dissented.
Though the Court distinguished its 1969 decision Tinker v. Des Moines, which upheld the right for students to express themselves where their words are nondisruptive and could not be seen as connected with the school, the ruling in Fraser can be seen as a limitation on the scope of that ruling, prohibiting certain styles of expression that are sexually vulgar.
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
decision involving free speech and public schools. Matthew Fraser was suspended from school for making a speech full of sexual double entendre
Double entendre
A double entendre or adianoeta is a figure of speech in which a spoken phrase is devised to be understood in either of two ways. Often the first meaning is straightforward, while the second meaning is less so: often risqué or ironic....
s at a school assembly
School assembly
A school assembly is a gathering of all or part of a school in order to communicate information and share learning experiences....
. The Supreme Court held that his suspension did not violate the First Amendment
First Amendment to the United States Constitution
The First Amendment to the United States Constitution is part of the Bill of Rights. The amendment prohibits the making of any law respecting an establishment of religion, impeding the free exercise of religion, abridging the freedom of speech, infringing on the freedom of the press, interfering...
.
Background
On April 26, 1983, Matthew Fraser, a Pierce County, WashingtonPierce County, Washington
right|thumb|[[Tacoma, Washington|Tacoma]] - Seat of Pierce CountyPierce County is the second most populous county in the U.S. state of Washington. Formed out of Thurston County on December 22, 1852, by the legislature of Oregon Territory...
high school senior, gave a speech nominating classmate Jeff Kuhlman for Associated Student Body Vice President
Vice president
A vice president is an officer in government or business who is below a president in rank. The name comes from the Latin vice meaning 'in place of'. In some countries, the vice president is called the deputy president...
. The speech was filled with sexual innuendoes, but not obscenity, prompting disciplinary action from the administration.
Fraser's speech was as follows:
"I know a man who is firm - he's firm in his pants, he's firm in his shirt, his character is firm - but most [of] all, his belief in you the students of Bethel, is firm. Jeff Kuhlman is a man who takes his point and pounds it in. If necessary, he'll take an issue and nail it to the wall. He doesn't attack things in spurts - he drives hard, pushing and pushing until finally - he succeeds. Jeff is a man who will go to the very end - even the climax, for each and every one of you. So please vote for Jeff Kuhlman, as he'll never come between us and the best our school can be. He is firm enough to give it everything." [Long pause after the word "come" on oral delivery, but no comma in the written version, according to Matthew N Fraser]
After appealing through the grievance procedures of his school, he was still found to be in violation of a school policy against disruptive behavior. These grounds later evolved to include obscenity at trial, but obscenity, according to Fraser, was not listed as grounds for his punishment in his initial hearing with school vice-principal Christy Blair. Fraser was suspended from school for three days as a result, was prohibited from speaking at his graduation ceremony, and his name was stricken from the ballot used to elect three graduation speakers. Fraser nonetheless was selected by a write-in vote which placed him second overall among the top three finishers, although Bethel High School administrators refused to accept the write-in vote as a valid result, and continued to deny Fraser the opportunity to speak at graduation.
With approval from his parents and help from ACLU
American Civil Liberties Union
The American Civil Liberties Union is a U.S. non-profit organization whose stated mission is "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States." It works through litigation, legislation, and...
cooperating attorney Jeff Haley, Matt Fraser filed a lawsuit against the school authorities claiming a violation of his First Amendment right to free speech, and U.S. District Court judge Jack Tanner
Jack Edward Tanner
Jack Edward Tanner was a United States federal judge.Born in Tacoma, Washington, Tanner was in the United States Army during World War II, from 1943 to 1945. He received an LL.B. from the University of Washington School of Law in 1955...
ruled in his favor.
The school district then appealed to the US Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals which ruled in Fraser's favor with a broadly worded opinion. The school district asked the United States Supreme Court to consider the case and it agreed to do so.
Opinion of the Court
The US Supreme Court reversed the Court of Appeals in 7-2 vote to uphold the suspension, saying that the school district's policy did not violate the First Amendment. Chief JusticeChief Justice of the United States
The Chief Justice of the United States is the head of the United States federal court system and the chief judge of the Supreme Court of the United States. The Chief Justice is one of nine Supreme Court justices; the other eight are the Associate Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States...
Warren Burger delivered the Court's opinion, in what ended up along with the Gramm-Rudman decision to be the final case of the Burger Court era. Fraser refers to this as "the silver lining in the grim cloud of my defeat." Justices
Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States
Associate Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States are the members of the Supreme Court of the United States other than the Chief Justice of the United States...
William J. Brennan and Harry Blackmun
Harry Blackmun
Harold Andrew Blackmun was an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1970 until 1994. He is best known as the author of Roe v. Wade.- Early years and professional career :...
delivered concurring opinions, while Thurgood Marshall
Thurgood Marshall
Thurgood Marshall was an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court, serving from October 1967 until October 1991...
and John Paul Stevens
John Paul Stevens
John Paul Stevens served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from December 19, 1975 until his retirement on June 29, 2010. At the time of his retirement, he was the oldest member of the Court and the third-longest serving justice in the Court's history...
dissented.
Though the Court distinguished its 1969 decision Tinker v. Des Moines, which upheld the right for students to express themselves where their words are nondisruptive and could not be seen as connected with the school, the ruling in Fraser can be seen as a limitation on the scope of that ruling, prohibiting certain styles of expression that are sexually vulgar.
See also
- School speechSchool speech (First Amendment)The issue of school speech as it relates to the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution is one that has been of much debate and the subject of much litigation since the mid-20th century.-School speech vs. public speech:...
- Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School DistrictTinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School DistrictTinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District, was a decision by the United States Supreme Court that defined the constitutional rights of students in U.S. public schools...
, 393 U.S. 503 (1969) - Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier, 484 U.S. 260 (1988)
- Broussard v. School Board of NorfolkBroussard v. School Board of NorfolkBroussard v. School Board of Norfolk, 801 F. Supp. 1526 was a court case that took place in Norfolk, Virginia, United States in 1992. A student was disciplined for wearing a t-shirt that read "Drugs Suck". When he sued, his lawyer claimed that his shirt was a form of free speech protected by the...
, 801 F. Supp. 1526 (E.D. Va. 1992) - Desilets v. Clearview Regional Board of EducationDesilets v. Clearview Regional Board of EducationDesilets v. Clearview Regional Board of Education, 137 N.J. 585 was a New Jersey Supreme Court decision that held that public school curricular student newspapers that have not been established as forums for student expression are subject to a lower level of First Amendment protection than...
, 647 A.2d. 150 (N.J. 1994) - Morse v. Frederick, 551 U.S. 393 (2007)
- Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District
- ObscenityObscenityAn obscenity is any statement or act which strongly offends the prevalent morality of the time, is a profanity, or is otherwise taboo, indecent, abhorrent, or disgusting, or is especially inauspicious...
- Cohen v. CaliforniaCohen v. CaliforniaCohen v. California, 403 U.S. 15 was a United States Supreme Court case dealing with freedom of speech. The Court overturned a disturbing the peace conviction of a man wearing a jacket decorated with profanity.-Background of the case:...
, 403 U.S. 15 (1971) - Miller v. CaliforniaMiller v. CaliforniaMiller v. California, was an important United States Supreme Court case involving what constitutes unprotected obscenity for First Amendment purposes...
, 413 U.S. 15 (1973)
- Cohen v. California
- List of United States Supreme Court cases
- Lists of United States Supreme Court cases by volume
- List of United States Supreme Court cases, volume 478
- List of United States Supreme Court cases by the Rehnquist Court
- Finkelman, P., & Urofsky, M. I. (2003). Bethel School District No. 403 v. Fraser. In Landmark decisions of the United States Supreme Court. Washington: CQ Press. Retrieved January 22, 2009, from CQ Press Electronic Library, CQ Supreme Court Collection, http://library.cqpress.com/scc/lndmrk03-113-6442-349542. Document ID: lndmrk03-113-6442-349542.