Court backs Novato student's protected speech

The U.S. Supreme Court left intact Tuesday a ruling that said Novato school district officials violated a student's freedom of expression when they confiscated a high school newspaper because of an editorial attacking illegal immigrants.

The ruling, issued last May by a state appeals court in San Francisco, relied on a California law that protects freedom of the press in public schools more strongly than the constitutional rights guaranteed under the First Amendment.

Tuesday's Supreme Court order, which denied a hearing sought by the Novato Unified School District, means that California students "will be able to publish very controversial political opinions without fearing retribution," said Paul Beard of the Pacific Legal Foundation, a lawyer for the student who wrote the editorial.

The district's lawyer was unavailable for comment.

High school senior Andrew Smith wrote the editorial for the Novato High newspaper, the Buzz, in November 2001 when he was 18. He said immigrants should stay out of the country if they can't go to the trouble of becoming citizens.

Authorities "should treat these people the way cops would treat a suspected criminal," Smith wrote. "If a person looks suspicious then just stop them and ask a few questions, and if they answer, 'Que?' detain them."

After some students and parents protested, school district officials pulled remaining copies of the newspaper out of circulation and sent a letter to parents saying the editorial shouldn't have been published.

Smith and his father, Dale Smith, sued in Marin County Superior Court, claiming that the district had illegally censored the piece and subjected the younger Smith to public reprimand for expressing unpopular positions.

A judge dismissed the suit, noting that the editorial had been published and that the student hadn't been disciplined. But the First District Court of Appeal said the district had violated Smith's rights by confiscating the paper and sending the message to parents.

The appeals court said state law guarantees freedom of the press on campus unless an article is obscene or libelous, or unless it creates a clear and present danger of lawbreaking or disorder on campus.

The school district "succumbed to the fear of disruption and discontent" when it removed the newspaper from circulation, the state court said. Smith was awarded $1 and a declaration that his rights had been violated.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1988 that public school officials could censor student newspapers and remove sensitive topics without violating the First Amendment. California, however, is one of about a half-dozen states with laws that explicitly protect student expression even if it is controversial.

Tuesday's case is Novato Unified School District vs. Smith, 07-783.

Supreme Court denies a review of a lawsuit challenging warrantless surveillance. A5