School Question.. Really Important Please help!

[zelm2426]

What is the name of your state? New Jersey

Hello I am 15 years of age and I live in East Brunswick. I have a question about what the school can legally do and cannot do. I have made a banner using photoshop showing the school principle, assistant principle and other indivuduals. In the banner I am cursing at them and I have posted the banner on MySpace with the code so you can add it to your profile. If you would like to look at the image you can see it here:

http://img402.imageshack.us/my.php?image=aaann0.jpg

Somehow the School principle found out about it. Just so you know, none of this happend at school. The banner was made at home using my home computer and basically nothing happend in school. Now the School wants to suspend me. It is a Public school called Churchill Jr High School in East Brunswick, NJ. Please tell me if the school is allowed to suspend or expell me for this legally?

Thanks

 

[Just Blue]

What is the name of your state? New Jersey

Hello I am 15 years of age and I live in East Brunswick. I have a question about what the school can legally do and cannot do. I have made a banner using photoshop showing the school principle, assistant principle and other indivuduals. In the banner I am cursing at them and I have posted the banner on MySpace with the code so you can add it to your profile. If you would like to look at the image you can see it here:

http://img402.imageshack.us/my.php?image=aaann0.jpg

Somehow the School principle found out about it. Just so you know, none of this happend at school. The banner was made at home using my home computer and basically nothing happend in school. Now the School wants to suspend me. It is a Public school called Churchill Jr High School in East Brunswick, NJ. Please tell me if the school is allowed to suspend or expell me for this legally?

Thanks

You're a vile little basta*d !! Yes, you can be suspended and most likely you will have a civil suite against you also. If you think it is amusing to post someones image and name call them filthy names and think that there will be no repercussions, you are in for a rude awakening!!

 

[zelm2426]

Freedom of speech

You're a vile little basta*d !! Yes, you can be suspended and most likely you will have a civil suite against you also. If you think it is amusing to post someones image and name call them filthy names and think that there will be no repercussions, you are in for a rude awakening!!

Isn't this freedom of speech? You have no idea what they have done to me. I understand that in school it is inappropriate, but isn't this freedom of speech? I do not see how I can get suspended or expelled for something that did not happen in school?

 

[Just Blue]

Isn't this freedom of speech? You have no idea what they have done to me. I understand that in school it is inappropriate, but isn't this freedom of speech? I do not see how I can get suspended or expelled for something that did not happen in school?

No! It is NOT freedom of speech! It is slander. Calling someone a molester with their name, image and employer is very damageing. Plan on being sued!

What do your parents think about this?

 

[cbg]

Clearly you weren't paying attention in civics class.

Freedom of speech does not mean that you can say anything you want about anyone without any repercussions. Freedom of speech means that Congress cannot create a law that limits your right to express an opinion.

If you're going to make statements like that in public you'd better have some pretty significant proof that they actually are molesters, in the legal sense of the word, or you and/or your parents are going to be paying some very serious money in damages, whether you did it at school, at home, at the library, at your friends house, or anywhere else.

And yes, they legally damn well can suspend or expell you for slandering them in public.

 

[Ohiogal]

Oh and by the way -- since you are a minor, when you are sued your parents can be held liable for the judgment which means the house you live in, the cars your parents drive, the money and such -- kiss it goodbye. You may have just forced your parents into bankruptcy with your stupidity. You need to take that down, sincerely apologize to everyone you referred to, and pray that you do not get sued in a civil lawsuit.

 

[stealth2]

Maybe if you spent more time focusing on your studies instead of creating obscene and libelous (take note baystate & cbg - slander is spoken, libel is written) material, you'd find more appropriate ways to express yourself. Not to mention, you'd know that you posted pictures of the principAl. Principles are non-photogenic.

 

[Just Blue]

Maybe if you spent more time focusing on your studies instead of creating obscene and libelous (take note baystate & cbg - slander is spoken, libel is written) material, you'd find more appropriate ways to express yourself. Not to mention, you'd know that you posted pictures of the principAl. Principles are non-photogenic.

I stand corrected!

 

[cbg]

Slapping my own wrist; I knew that - I was just so horrified by this litttle ******'s performance that I let it slip by.

 

[tranquility]

Childish and crude, yes. Defamation? I don't think so. Maybe in a strictly theoretical sense (as a prima facie case could be made), but not in a realistic sense. I mean really, students calling teachers dirty names is not generally going to be actionable in the real world.


As to whether the school can punish him or not, we may find guidance in the "Bong hits 4 Jesus" case, (aka Juneau School Board v. Frederick) just heard in the Supreme Court. In the ninth circut at this time, probably not. I don't know the law in New Jersey. Does anyone have a cite?

 

[Zigner]

Childish and crude, yes. Defamation? I don't think so. Maybe in a strictly theoretical sense (as a prima facie case could be made), but not in a realistic sense. I mean really, students calling teachers dirty names is not generally going to be actionable in the real world.


As to whether the school can punish him or not, we may find guidance in the "Bong hits 4 Jesus" case, (aka Juneau School Board v. Frederick) just heard in the Supreme Court. In the ninth circut at this time, probably not. I don't know the law in New Jersey. Does anyone have a cite?

I think once the word "molester" was used, it took it to a different level...

 

[cbg]

Tranquility, I would agree with you if not for the use of the word, molester.

 

[tranquility]

Would a reasonable person believe the OP is accusing someone as being a child molester? I'm not looking at the picutre again, but I recall the spelling was in the L33t mannor and was something along the lines of "aka Mol3stor". I agree that merely putting aka in front of a word would not make it fine in all instances, but it does evidence a certain amount of opinion or parody (Or, truth if that's what some in the community also know him as) in the comment, doesn't it?

Saying Principal Skinner is a child molester if very different from "f@#$ Principal Skinner, aka Mol3stor". The former is prima facie defamatory and could give rise to damages while the latter is a child's rant at the unfairness of the world focused on an authority figure.

 

[tranquility]

I hate to hijack a thread, but at:
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D8OB83PG0&show_article=1


Principal Sues Youths Over MySpace Fakes

Apr 6 01:21 PM US/Eastern



HERMITAGE, Pa. (AP) - A school principal sued four former students who he claims posted parody MySpace.com profiles saying he smoked pot, kept beer at school and liked having sex with students.
In the lawsuit, Eric W. Trosch alleged that the three profiles created in December 2005 on the social networking Web site damaged his reputation, humiliated him and hurt his earning capacity.

The profiles "went far and beyond what you would see on a bathroom wall in a school," said Trosch's attorney, John E. Quinn.

Trosch was co-principal of Hickory High School at the time the profiles were created and is now principal of Hermitage Middle School, in the same western Pennsylvania school district.

According to the suit, which seeks unspecified punitive damages, a profile by defendant Justin Layshock said Trosch smoked marijuana and kept a keg of beer behind his desk. Trosch alleges that another profile created by Thomas Cooper said his favorite movie was pornographic, and a third created by brothers Brendan and Christopher Gebhart said Trosch liked having sex with students and brutalizing women.

Layshock was suspended and sent to an alternative program after Trosch learned of the profile. In an effort to return to regular classes he sued, claiming the profile was protected by the First Amendment, but a judge last year declined to order the school to transfer him back.

Layshock's father, Donald, said he could not comment on Trosch's lawsuit because of the pending federal suit. Attorneys for Cooper and the Gebharts also declined to comment to The Herald of Sharon, Pa.

Quinn said it remains unknown who created a fourth Myspace profile that he described as "the most graphic and lurid of them all."