''Dean v. Utica Community Schools'', 345 F. Supp. 2d 799 (E.D. Mich. 2004), is a landmark legal case in
United States constitutional law, namely on how the
First Amendment applies to
censorship in a
public school
Public school may refer to:
* State school (known as a public school in many countries), a no-fee school, publicly funded and operated by the government
* Public school (United Kingdom), certain elite fee-charging independent schools in England an ...
environment. The case expanded on the ruling definitions of the
Supreme Court
A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
case ''
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 ...
'', in which a high school journalism-oriented trial on censorship limited the First Amendment right to
freedom of expression in curricular student newspapers. The case consisted of
Utica High School Principal Richard Machesky ordering the deletion of an article in the ''Arrow'', the high school's newspaper, a decision later deemed "unreasonable" and "unconstitutional" by District Judge Arthur Tarnow.
Case overview
On March 8, 2002, Utica High School Principal Richard Machesky asked the ''Arrow'' advisor to cut student reporter Katy Dean's story about school bus diesel emissions along with the adjoining cartoon and editorial, at the time claiming it was based on "unreliable" sources and was "highly inaccurate." After a year of asking school officials to reconsider their decision, Dean filed a lawsuit against the
Utica Community Schools in federal court.
On October 12, 2004, Judge Arthur Tarnow determined that "The Arrow" student newspaper was an example of a limited public forum after reviewing the degree of control school officials exercised over the paper, which ultimately separated this case from the decision expressed in ''Hazelwood''. A limited public forum—in this context, a public forum created for use by student editors—can reasonably be regulated in terms of
time, place, and manner
In the United States, freedom of speech, freedom of speech and expression is strongly protected from government restrictions by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, many state constitutions, and state and federal laws. Freedom ...
of expression, but not on the substance of that expression.
Tarnow also examined Dean's article and determined that there was not a "significant disparity in quality between Dean's article in the ''Arrow'' and the similar articles in 'professional newspapers.'" In addition to these two factors, the Judge decided that the school had censored the article in its own interest, by preventing the expression of its viewpoint, and then claiming it was "inaccurate."
[''Dean'', 345 F. Supp. 2d at 812.]
See also
*
Environmental journalism
* ''
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 ...
''
* ''
Bethel v. Fraser''
* ''
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 ...
''
References
External links
* {{caselaw source
, case = ''Dean v. Utica Community Schools'', 345 F. Supp. 2d 799 (E.D. Mich. 2004)
, courtlistener =https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/2572901/dean-v-utica-community-schools/
, googlescholar = https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=5711022876252235040
, leagle =https://www.leagle.com/decision/20041144345fsupp2d79911064
, other_source1 = Southern Poverty Law Center (slip opinion)
, other_url1 =https://splc.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/deanvutica.pdf
National Scholastic Press Association: Dean v. Utica FAQ
United States Free Speech Clause case law
United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan cases
2004 in United States case law
2004 in education
2004 in Michigan
Education in Macomb County, Michigan
Air pollution in the United States
High school newspapers published in the United States
Student newspapers published in Michigan
Student rights case law in the United States
United States children's rights case law