''Bethel School District v. Fraser'', 478 U.S. 675 (1986), was a
landmark decision
Landmark court decisions, in present-day common law legal systems, establish precedents that determine a significant new legal principle or concept, or otherwise substantially affect the interpretation of existing law. "Leading case" is commonly u ...
by the
United States Supreme Court involving
free speech in public schools. High school student Matthew Fraser was suspended from school in the
Bethel School District in
Washington for making a speech including
sexual innuendo at a
school assembly. The Supreme Court held that his suspension did not violate his
First Amendment right to freedom of speech.
Background
On April 26, 1983, Matthew Fraser, a
Pierce County, Washington
Pierce County is a county in the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2020 census, the population was 921,130, up from 795,225 in 2010, making it the second-most populous county in Washington, behind King County, and the 60th-most populous ...
high school senior, gave a speech nominating classmate Jeff Kuhlman for
Associated Student Body vice president. The speech was filled with sexual innuendos, but not
obscenity
An obscenity is any utterance or act that strongly offends the prevalent morality of the time. It is derived from the Latin ''obscēnus'', ''obscaenus'', "boding ill; disgusting; indecent", of uncertain etymology. Such loaded language can be use ...
, prompting disciplinary action from the administration. The speech was as follows:
After appealing through the grievance procedures of his school, he was still found to be in violation of several school policies against disruptive behavior and the use of vulgar and offensive speech. These grounds later evolved to include obscenity at trial, but obscenity, according to Fraser, was not listed as grounds for his punishment in his initial hearing with school vice-principal Christy Blair. As a result, Fraser was suspended from school for three days, though he returned after two,
and was prohibited from speaking at his graduation ceremony. Fraser nonetheless was selected by a write-in vote which placed him second overall among the top three finishers, although Bethel High School administrators refused to accept the write-in vote as a valid result, and continued to deny Fraser the opportunity to speak at graduation.
With approval from his parents and help from
American Civil Liberties Union cooperating attorney Jeff Haley, Matt Fraser filed a lawsuit against the school authorities claiming a violation of his First Amendment right to
free speech, and United States District Court judge
Jack Tanner ruled in his favor.
The school district then appealed to the US Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which ruled in Fraser's favor with a broadly worded opinion. The school district asked the United States Supreme Court to consider the case, and it agreed to do so.
Opinion of the Court
The US Supreme Court reversed the Court of Appeals in a 7–2 vote to reinstate the suspension, saying that the school district's policy did not violate the First Amendment.
[Bethel School District No. 403 v. Fraser , The Oyez Project at IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law]
/ref> Chief Justice Warren Burger delivered the Court's opinion, in what ended up along with the Gramm–Rudman decision (''Bowsher v. Synar
''Bowsher v. Synar'', 478 U.S. 714 (1986), was a United States Supreme Court case that struck down the Gramm–Rudman–Hollings Act as an unconstitutional usurpation of executive power by Congress because the law empowered Congress to terminate ...
'') to be the final case of the Burger Court era. Justices William J. Brennan and Harry Blackmun
Harry Andrew Blackmun (November 12, 1908 – March 4, 1999) was an American lawyer and jurist who served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1970 to 1994. Appointed by Republican President Richard Nixon, Blac ...
delivered concurring opinions, while Thurgood Marshall and John Paul Stevens
John Paul Stevens (April 20, 1920 – July 16, 2019) was an American lawyer and jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1975 to 2010. At the time of his retirement, he was the second-oldes ...
dissented.Tinker v. Des Moines
''Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District'', 393 U.S. 503 (1969), was a landmark decision by the United States Supreme Court that defined First Amendment rights of students in U.S. public schools. The ''Tinker'' test, also k ...
'', which upheld the right of students to express themselves where their words (or in that case, the wearing of a protest armband) are nondisruptive and could not be seen as connected with the school, ''Fraser'' limits the scope of that ruling, by prohibiting certain styles of expression that are sexually vulgar.
See also
* School speech
** '' Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District'', 393 U.S. 503 (1969)
** ''Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier
''Hazelwood School District et al. v. Kuhlmeier et al.'', 484 U.S. 260 (1988), was a landmark decision by the Supreme Court of the United States that held that public school curricular student newspapers that have not been established as forums ...
'', 484 U.S. 260 (1988)
** ''Broussard v. School Board of Norfolk
''Broussard v. School Board of Norfolk'', 801 F. Supp. 1526 ( E.D. Va. 1992) was a court case that took place in Norfolk, Virginia, United States in 1992. Kimberly Broussard, a middle school student was disciplined by the Norfolk Public Schools ...
'', 801 F. Supp. 1526 (E.D. Va. 1992)
** ''Desilets v. Clearview Regional Board of Education
''Desilets v. Clearview Regional Board of Education'', 137 N.J. 585 (1994), was a New Jersey Supreme Court decision that held that public school curricular student newspapers that have not been established as forums for student expression are sub ...
'', 647 A.2d. 150 (N.J. 1994)
** ''Morse v. Frederick
''Morse v. Frederick'', 551 U.S. 393 (2007), is a United States Supreme Court case where the Court held, 5–4, that the First Amendment does not prevent educators from suppressing student speech that is reasonably viewed as promoting illegal d ...
'', 551 U.S. 393 (2007)
** ''Mahanoy Area School District v. B.L.
''Mahanoy Area School District v. B.L.'', 594 U.S. ___ (2021), was a United States Supreme Court case involving the ability of schools to regulate freedom of speech in schools in the United States, student speech made off-campus, including speech ...
'', 594 U.S. ___ (2021)
* Obscenity
An obscenity is any utterance or act that strongly offends the prevalent morality of the time. It is derived from the Latin ''obscēnus'', ''obscaenus'', "boding ill; disgusting; indecent", of uncertain etymology. Such loaded language can be use ...
** ''Cohen v. California
''Cohen v. California'', 403 U.S. 15 (1971), was a landmark decision of the US Supreme Court holding that the First Amendment prevented the conviction of Paul Robert Cohen for the crime of disturbing the peace by wearing a jacket displaying "Fu ...
'', 403 U.S. 15 (1971)
** ''Miller v. California
''Miller v. California'', 413 U.S. 15 (1973), was a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court modifying its definition of obscenity from that of "utterly without socially redeeming value" to that which lacks "serious literary, artistic, politi ...
'', 413 U.S. 15 (1973)
* List of United States Supreme Court cases
** Lists of United States Supreme Court cases by volume
** List of United States Supreme Court cases, volume 478
** List of United States Supreme Court cases by the Rehnquist Court
**
References
Further reading
* Finkelman, P., & Urofsky, M. I. (2003). Bethel School District No. 403 v. Fraser. In Landmark decisions of the United States Supreme Court. Washington: CQ Press. Retrieved January 22, 2009, from CQ Press Electronic Library, CQ Supreme Court Collection, http://library.cqpress.com/scc/lndmrk03-113-6442-349542. Document ID: lndmrk03-113-6442-349542.
External links
*
*
Text of Fraser's speech
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bethel School District v. Fraser
United States Supreme Court cases
United States Free Speech Clause case law
1986 in United States case law
Student rights case law in the United States
United States Supreme Court cases of the Burger Court
1986 in education
Education in Pierce County, Washington
History of Pierce County, Washington
United States obscenity case law
Obscenity controversies