WASHINGTON – The Supreme Court on Wednesday sided with a former cheerleader who excoriated her school in a profanity-laced post on social media, holding that the punishment of her off-campus speech violated the First Amendment.
But the 8-1 ruling left unresolved the broader question of when schools may regulate off-campus speech, and when such punishment is off limits.
“It might be tempting to dismiss [the student’s] words as unworthy of the robust First Amendment protections discussed herein,” Associate Justice Stephen Breyer wrote for the majority.. “But sometimes it is necessary to protect the superfluous in order to preserve the necessary.”
Associate Justice Clarence Thomas dissented.
When Brandi Levy, who was 14 at the time, failed