Aaron filed suit for the right to attend prom with his male date. “I feel I have the right to attend,” he told the judge. “I feel I want to go to the prom for the same reason any other student would want to go.” Soon Aaron was physically bullied at school, to the point he needed stitches on his face. It was just one year earlier, in 1979, that Paul Guilbert had attempted to take a male friend to prom and was not permitted. He did not attend the prom at all.

In the U.S. District Court suit, Judge Raymond J. Pettine ordered the school to not only allow Aaron and Paul to attend the prom as dates, but to provide enough security to ensure their complete safety. The Court decided that "even a legitimate interest in school discipline does not outweigh a student's right to peacefully express his views in an appropriate time, place, and manner." Today, this case is often cited in same-sex prom disputes all over the country.