On The Front Lines
Institute Appeals to U.S. Supreme Court in Religious Candy Cane Case!
Kindergartner Censored For Gifts of Religious Candy Canes & PencilsRutherford Institute Attorneys Appeal to U.S. Supreme Court
Attorneys for The Rutherford Institute have appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of Dana Walz and her son Daniel, an elementary school student attending Egg Harbor Township Public Schools in New Jersey. In challenging a ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit that upholds a discriminatory elementary school policy, Institute attorneys argue that school officials violated Daniel's First Amendment rights when they prohibited him from handing out pencils and candy canes bearing Christian messages to his classmates during holiday parties, while allowing his classmates to distribute non-religious items. For a copy of the Institute's petition in PDF format, click here.
In requesting a review of the case by the high court, Institute attorneys assert that the school district's actions and policies discriminate against Daniel's speech on the basis of its religious viewpoint, constitute hostility toward and denigration of religion in violation of the First and Fourteenth Amendments, and violate the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination. Institute attorneys have asked the court to determine whether student religious speech can be censored solely because it is religious, and to what extent the Supreme Court's First Amendment jurisprudence, particularly that dealing specifically with student speech, applies in the context of a public elementary school.
In April 1998, during the Easter-Passover season, Daniel and his pre-kindergarten classmates attended a holiday party at school. Some children brought in small gifts to hand out during the party. Daniel handed out pencils that stated "Jesus loves the little children." On seeing the pencils, Daniel's teacher confiscated them from the children. Daniel's mother, Dana Walz, who was present in the classroom, immediately brought the matter to the attention of the school's principal. However, the principal, assistant superintendent and superintendent denied Daniel's request to distribute the pencils. Walz was then told that Daniel could only hand out pencils outside the classroom. In December 1998, Daniel and his kindergarten classmates had a Christmas-Hanukkah party at school. Before the party, Walz contacted the school's attorney to obtain permission for Daniel to distribute candy canes with the story "The Candy Maker's Witness" attached to them. She was informed that Daniel could do so only outside the classroom. However, Daniel's classmates were permitted to hand out non-religious gifts during the party.
"To prohibit a student from handing out gifts of his choosing to his classmates simply because the school is afraid that a parent will mistakenly assume school participation is ludicrous," stated John W. Whitehead, president of The Rutherford Institute. "We are hopeful the U.S. Supreme Court will see through the school officials' justifications and recognize their actions for what they are--religious discrimination."
The Rutherford Institute is an international, nonprofit civil liberties organization committed to defending constitutional and human rights.
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