On The Front Lines
John Whitehead to Appear on FOX & Friends on Monday to Discuss Case of Calif School that Banned Students from Wearing American Flag T-Shirts
SAN JOSE, Calif. — John W. Whitehead, president of The Rutherford Institute, will appear on Fox & Friends on the FOX News Channel on Monday, Nov. 14, at 8:50 am EST to discuss a recent federal court ruling that a California public school district did not violate the First Amendment when it prohibited students from wearing t-shirts and other items emblazoned with American flags to school on the Mexican holiday Cinco de Mayo. In granting summary judgment and dismissing the case of Dariano et al. v. Morgan Hill Unif. Sch. Dist., U.S. District Court Judge James Ware ruled that school officials’ fear of disruption justified censoring the students’ pro-U.S.A. message. The court did not raise any safety concerns about students wearing Mexican flag colors to school. Rutherford Institute attorneys, had argued that school officials at Live Oak High School in Morgan Hill, Calif., violated long-standing Supreme Court precedent forbidding viewpoint discrimination when they ordered students to cover up their stars and stripes apparel or leave the school while allowing Mexican flag colors and symbols to be worn. School officials allegedly issued the clothing ban after some Hispanic students complained about the patriotic articles of clothing. Institute attorneys plan to appeal the court’s ruling.
“This is nothing more than a victory for political correctness,” said John W. Whitehead, president of The Rutherford Institute. “If the court’s decision is allowed to stand, any speech a school official happens to dislike will be censored. Those who wrote our Constitution would be shocked.”
On May 5, 2010, three Live Oak High School students wore patriotic t-shirts, shorts and shoes to school bearing various images of the U.S. flag. During a mid-morning “brunch break,” the students were approached by Assistant Principal Miguel Rodriguez, who told the students they could not wear their pro-U.S.A. shirts and gave them the option of either removing their shirts or turning them inside out. When the students refused because the options would be disrespectful to the flag, Rodriguez ordered them to his office. After two of the students’ parents arrived at the school, Rodriguez is alleged to have lectured the group about Cinco de Mayo, indicating he received complaints from some Hispanic students about the stars and stripes apparel, and again ordered that the clothing be covered up to prevent offending the Hispanic students on “their” day. Principal Nick Boden also met with the parents and students and affirmed Rodriguez’s order, allegedly because he did not want to offend students who were celebrating Cinco de Mayo. Arguing that the decision by school officials constitutes viewpoint discrimination against pro-U.S.A. expression, Rutherford Institute attorneys filed suit on behalf of the students and their parents seeking a declaration that the action violated the First Amendment and injunctive relief against a vague school district policy allowing prior restraints on speech to be imposed upon students. The lawsuit asserted that school officials violated the students’ rights to Free Speech under the First Amendment, their Due Process and Equal Protection rights under the Fourteenth Amendment, and the protection of freedom of speech granted by the California Constitution. Institute attorneys argued that the school district’s policies give officials too much discretion in censoring student speech.
