| Bethel School District V. Fraser |
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| CATEGORIES ABOUT BETHEL SCHOOL DISTRICT V. FRASER | |
| 1986 in law | |
| united states supreme court cases | |
| united states education case law | |
| united states free speech case law | |
| united states first amendment case law | |
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On April 26 , 1983 , Matthew Fraser, a Spanaway , Washington high school senior, gave a speech nominating classmate Jeff Kuhlman for Associated Student Body Vice President . The speech was filled with sexual innuendo, but not obscenity, prompting disciplinary action from the administration. After appealing the decision through the grievance procedures of his school, he was still found to be in violation of a school policy prohibiting Obscene language. Fraser was suspended from school for three days as a result, and was prohibited from speaking at his graduation ceremony. (He was Salutatorian at the time.) His parents appealed the school authorities' actions, claiming a violation of his First Amendment right to Free Speech , and the Washington Supreme Court ruled in favor of them. The school district then appealed to the Supreme Court, which voted 7-2 to uphold the suspension, saying that the school district's policy did not violate the First Amendment. Chief Justice Warren Burger delivered the Court's opinion. Justices William J. Brennan and Harry Blackmun delivered concurring opinions, while Thurgood Marshall and John Paul Stevens dissented. This has been cited as a partial reversal of the precedent established in 1969 '' Tinker V. Des Moines ''; though the Court distinguished ''Tinker'', the ruling can be seen as at least limiting it. RESEARCH RESOURCES SEE ALSO EXTERNAL LINK |
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