Bowers V Hardwick Case Study

1022 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: supreme court conclusion

Bowers v. Hardwick (1986) Facts: After Michael Hardwick was caught engaging in oral sex with another man in his bedroom by a police officer, he was charged with violating a Georgia statute prohibiting sodomy. After the Court of Appeals declared the statute unconstitutional, Georgia’s Attorney General Michael J. Bowers appealed the decision. Issue: Does the 14th Amendment Due Process guarantee the fundamental right to engage in private homosexual sodomy? Holding: No, 5-4 Rationale: The Court ruled that classifying sodomy as one of the unenumerated rights guaranteed to the people in the 9th amendment would go against the centuries-old morals and traditions. The majority opinion also claimed that the legalization of sodomy would open a Kuhlmeier (1988) Facts: In May 1983, Hazelwood East High School principal Robert E. Reynolds found two of the articles in the school newspaper, The Spectrum, to be inappropriate and chose to publish the paper without the inappropriate articles. Cathy Kuhlmeier along with two other students of the school brought the case to court. Issue: Did Reynolds’ deletion of the articles violate the 1st Amendment Freedom of Speech? Holding: No, 5-3 Rationale: The school newspaper at Hazelwood High School was not a public forum for expression and therefore was not protected by the 1st Amendment Freedom of Speech. Schools must also maintain high standards matching those associated with school behavior and can censor speech not coherent with such standards in any school-sponsored student publications. Implications: The Hazelwood decision marked a significant reversal from the previous fifteen years of court decisions, which had given student journalists’ extensive 1st Amendment protections. Many schools have since used the Hazelwood standard as justification for further censoring of speech, such as in school band songs, school assignments, or school campaign speeches. Changes: The Hazelwood decision still stands

Show More
Related

  • Hazelwood East High School Case Summary

    582 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the majority opinion, Justice White wrote “Educators did not offend the First Amendment by exercising editorial control over the content of student speech so long as their actions were” The court also noted that the paper was a sponsored newspaper by the school which was not intended to be seen by the public, but rather for journalism students to write articles based off of the requirements for journalism 2 class, and all subjects must be appropriate for the school and all its

    Read More

  • Franklin V Gwinnett County Public Schools Case Study

    868 Words  | 2 Pages

    This case involves a sophomore at a high school named Christine Franklin, who alleged that she was sexually harassed and abused by a teacher and sports coach by the name of Andrew Hill. These allegations were occurring from 1986-1988, a total of two years. These allegations included Hill having explicit conversations with Franklin, forcing her to kiss him, and forceful intercourse on school grounds. Franklin claimed that she let teachers and administrators know about the harassment and that other students were going through the same harassment. The result of telling the teachers and administrators was that nothing was done about the situation and even encouraged Franklin not

    Read More

  • Bethel School District vs. Fraser

    539 Words  | 2 Pages

    Matthew's father appealed the school district's actions on behalf of his son to the federal district court. He alleged a violation of his First Amendment right to freedom of speech and sought both injunctive relief and monetary damages. The District Court held that the school's sanctions violated respondent's right to freedom of speech under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, that the school's disruptive-conduct rule is unconstitutionally vague and overbroad, and that the removal of respondent's name from the graduation speaker's list violated the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment because the disciplinary rule makes no mention of such removal as a possible sanction.

    Read More

  • Board Of Education V Pico Summary

    581 Words  | 2 Pages

    Board of Education v. Pico is a Supreme Court case that was argued from March 2, 1892 to June 25, 1982 (Island Trees…). This case presents the issue of banning “vulgar and immoral” books from school libraries (Board of Education, Island). The Board of Education of the Island Trees Union Free School District No. 26, including Richard Ahrens (President of the Board of Education), Frank Martin (Vice President), Christina Fasulo, Patrick Hughes, Richard Melchers, Richard Michaels, and Louis Nessim (Board Members), presented the issue of banning books from the Island Trees High School and the Island Trees Memorial Junior High School, after they attended a conference by Parents of New York United, or PONYU (Board of Education v…). The Board

    Read More

  • Pros And Cons Of Tinker V Des Moines

    1154 Words  | 3 Pages

    The case also states “A prohibition against expression of opinion, without any evidence that the rule is necessary to avoid substantial interference with school discipline or the rights of others, is not permissible under the First and Fourteenth Amendments” (Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District). Because the students didn 't necessarily disrupt the education process, their First Amendment freedom of speech should not have been violated by the school officials.

    Read More

  • Supreme Court Case: Tinker V. Des Moines Independent Community School District

    550 Words  | 2 Pages

    Mary Beth Tinker was only thirteen years old in December of 1964 when she and four other students were suspended from school because they wore black armbands. The black armbands were a sign of protest against the Vietnam War. The school suspended the students and told them that they could not return to school until they agreed to take off the armbands. The students did not return to school until after the school’s Christmas break, and they wore black the rest of the year, as a sign of protest. The Tinker family, along with other supporters, did not think that the suspension was constitutional and sued the Des Moines Independent Community School District. The Supreme Court’s majority decision was a 7-2 vote that the suspension was unconstitutional (Tinker V. Des Moines).

    Read More

  • Supreme Court Case Romer v. Evans

    1494 Words  | 3 Pages

    The opinion of the court was held by Justice Kennedy, in that the Colorado amendment was held unconstitutional on the basis that it violated the equal protection clause of the 14th amendment on the United States Constitution. Kennedy argued the amendment singles out a specific group in which, it would make it so only homosexuals cannot receive the protective rights that are available to anyone else. This idea makes homosexuals unequal to everyone else because they are not guaranteed the same protection that anyone else could get if they needed it. Furthermore, the amendment burdens the homosexual community by not allowing them to seek protection against discrimination though the use of legislation. Additionally, Kennedy claims “In and ordinary case, a law will be sustained if it can be said to advance a legitimate government interest…” (632) By this he means that a law will be considered valid as long as it has a ...

    Read More

  • Case Study: Marvin Pickering Case

    1447 Words  | 3 Pages

    The court stated the appellant’s statements were false concerned issues that were important to the public’s attention. The statements were neither shown nor could be presumed to interfere with the appellant’s performance of his teaching duties or the school’s operation (Oyez, n.d.). In the matter of false statements, the Supreme Court looked back at New York Times Co. v. Sullivan (1964). The school board was unable to prove the statements were malicious in nature.

    Read More

  • Lawrence V. Texas

    1308 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the case Lawrence v. Texas (539 U.S. 558, 2003) which was the United States Supreme Court case the criminal prohibition of the homosexual pederasty was invalidated in Texas. The same issue has been already addressed in 1989 in the case Bowers v. Hardwick, however, the constitutional protection of sexual privacy was not found at that time. Lawrence overruled Bowers and held that sexual conduct was the right protected by the due process under the Fourteenth Amendment. The effects of the ruling were quite widespread and led to invalidation of the similar laws throughout the United States that tried to criminalize the homosexual activity of adults which were acting in privacy. The case attracted much of the public attention and quite a large number of briefs were filed in the cases.

    Read More

  • Persuasive Essay On The First Amendment

    1303 Words  | 3 Pages

    There have been many cases where exceptions have been made over the first amendment, such as in the Tinker vs. Des Moines Community School District Case. Teenagers by the name of Christopher Eckhardt and Mary Beth Tinker had planned to wear black armbands to their school to show their support for a truce in the Vietnam War. When word reached the principle, of Christopher and Mary Beth’s plan to arrive with the black armbands, the principal created a policy stating that, “any student wearing an armband would be asked to remove it, with refusal to do so resulting in suspension.” (The Oyez Project). After being kicked out of school, Tinker’s parents sued them but their case was dismissed due to the fact that the first amendment does not grant one the right to express their opinion at any place nor at any time. Another official claimed that the first amendment is not fully guaranteed to children. While the first amendment may be a boon to the United States, it is not always just. There are limitations, and conditions surrounding the first amendment and our freedom of speech. In Tinker’s case, her armband was seen as disruptive, and distracting to other students, justifying the school’s actions against the student of suspending and eventually expelling

    Read More

  • The Fourteenth Amendment

    730 Words  | 2 Pages

    The extents of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution has been long discussed since its adoption in mid-late 1800s. Deciding cases like Brown v. Board of Education and Roe v. Wade has been possible due to mentioned amendment. These past cases not only show the progression of American society, but also highlights the degree of versatility that is contained within the amendment. Now, in 2015, the concerns are not of racial segregation or abortion, the extent of the amendment was brought to a new field: same-sex marriage. In Obergefell v Hodges, we can see the epitome of the Equal Protection Clause.

    Read More

  • The Tinker V. Des Moines School District Case

    1304 Words  | 3 Pages

    Through using case laws, the First Amendment, and previous cases, Justice Abe Fortas explains the reasoning behind why the principal was not permissible. In the first two paragraphs, Fortas provides a brief summary stating how the policy banning armbands go against the First Amendment. In the following paragraph, Fortas says, “Only a few of the 18,00 students in the school system wore the black armbands.” When introducing his first argument, he supports this fact explaining how “the work of the schools or any class was [not] disrupted.” As for the fourth paragraph, Justice Fortas provides a counter argument with what the District Court said. The District Court concluded the school authorities were reasonable since it was based upon their fear o...

    Read More

  • Essay On Des Moines Independent Community Schools

    579 Words  | 2 Pages

    On the other hand, students have the right to speak out for what they believe in without having any interference; they have the right to voice their opinion. This protection is all due to the first amendment protection. The first amendment protects the students and also the teachers’ freedom of speech, that includes during and out of school. With the protection of the first amendment no person is able to violate your right to freedom of speech. Any pers...

    Read More

  • First Amendment Rights In School Essay

    1139 Words  | 3 Pages

    Which include danger to the school or any of the students and this should be the only way teachers and schools can restrict students’ rights. but schools tend to go too far restricting students’ rights “The principal had ordered the stories removed from the paper because he believed the story about teen pregnancy was inappropriate for some of the younger students at the school, based on its discussion of sexual activity and birth control”(What are the free expression rights of students in public schools under the First Amendment?) a student though that this was appropriate for the school to read and it was but the officials at the school did not think the same way. also another case Bazaar v. Fortune officials tried to stop publication of a book just because it had a few words in it that they did not like.(The First Amendment and Public Schools) this is taking there restrictions just too far. The government should be able to set guidelines of what the immediate danger is and what kind of expression goes way too far and have it sent out to all the schools in the United States. This might help schools from restricting our

    Read More

  • Law And Morality Essay

    811 Words  | 2 Pages

    ... in setting standards for society to conform to. Therefor Hart supported the committee with a more liberal view and Devlin didn’t with a more authoritarian, paternalistic view. It is clear there are both case and statute law which reflect both viewpoints. In the case of Brown it shows how law enforces moral values and places the public good over individual freedom. However the law on homosexuality now reflect a more liberal view and so gives freedom and individual choice.

    Read More

More about Bowers V Hardwick Case Study

Open Document