Ken Starr taking "Bong Hits 4 Jesus" to the Supreme Court

atari 2600 · 08.28.2006, 03:24 PM

from today's Wall Street Journal
http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2006/0...gars-to-bongs/

August 27, 2006, 2:41 pm
Starr Goes From Cigars to Bongs

President Clinton’s impeachment nemesis Kenneth Starr is staying busy. Monday, the former Independent Counsel is expected to file a petition asking the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold the suspension of a high school student disciplined for holding a banner across the street from campus reading, “BONG HITS 4 JESUS.”

The incident occurred in January 2002, as the Olympic torch relay wound through Juneau, Alaska, en route to the winter games in Salt Lake City. As the torch passed by the school, student Joseph Frederick and friends unfurled the banner across the street from campus apparently to attract the attention of television cameras.
A bong is a popular device used to smoke marijuana, inhalation from which is commonly known as a “bong hit.” The school principal suspended Mr. Frederick — allegedly the only student who disobeyed her command to put down the banner — for 10 days. Mr. Frederick claimed the suspension violated his First Amendment right to freedom of speech. A federal district judge sided with the school, but a panel on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit unanimously reversed.
Mr. Starr and other attorneys in the Los Angeles office of Kirkland & Ellis have accepted the case pro bono. Should the court grant the petition, the outcome could hinge on whether the banner disrupted the educational process, whether watching the relay was a school-sponsored event, and whether Mr. Frederick — who had yet to enter school property that morning because his car had been stuck in the snow — was officially on campus. –Ben Winograd
Read the petition to be filed with the Supreme Court.

Permalink | Trackback URL: http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2006/0...ngs/trackback/

Comments
Report offensive comments to washwire@wsj.com

Trackbacks
[…] You couldn’t make this shit up if you tried… from WSJ Wash Wire… […]

Trackback by Bong Hits for Jesus, and Schrooms for Ashcroft « Lift While Climbing - August 27, 2006 at 10:02 pm

[…] more here from the Wall StreetJournal. […]

Trackback by Bong Hits 4 Jesus « cannablog - August 28, 2006 at 1:23 pm

!@#$%! · 08.28.2006, 03:27 PM

oh man. the ayatollahs...

Rob Instigator · 08.28.2006, 03:59 PM

this is just the latest example of the infrigement of every right americans are willfully giving up to delude ourselves that we are "safe"

atari 2600 · 03.27.2007, 10:18 AM

updates

atari 2600 · 03.27.2007, 10:18 AM

'Bong Hits 4 Jesus' case + Ken Starr = Supreme Court fun!

posted by Paul Lester on Mar 20, 2007 5:43:00 AM Discuss This: Comments (1) | TrackBack (0) | Linking Blogs | Add to del.icio.us | Digg it
Not only did the 'Bong Hits 4 Jesus' case make it all the way to the Supreme Court, but former independent counsel Kenneth Starr is representing the school's principal, which brings the case to another level of weirdness.
Read on..
From the Associated Press

WASHINGTON - A high school senior’s 14-foot banner proclaiming "Bong Hits 4 Jesus" gave the Supreme Court a provocative prop for a lively argument Monday about the extent of schools’ control over student speech.
If the justices conclude Joseph Frederick’s homemade sign was a pro-drug message, they are likely to side with principal Deborah Morse. She suspended Frederick in 2002 when he unfurled the banner across the street from the school in Juneau, Alaska.
"I thought we wanted our schools to teach something, including something besides just basic elements, including the character formation and not to use drugs," Chief Justice John Roberts said Monday.
But the court could rule for Frederick if it determines that he was, as he has contended, conducting a free-speech experiment using a nonsensical message that contained no pitch for drug use.
"It sounds like just a kid's provocative statement to me," Justice David Souter said.
Students in public schools don’t have the same rights as adults, but neither do they leave their constitutional protections at the schoolhouse gate, as the court said in a landmark speech-rights ruling from the Vietnam era.
Morse, now a Juneau schools administrator, was at the court Monday. Frederick, teaching and studying in China, was not.
Kenneth Starr in court
Former independent counsel Kenneth Starr, whose Kirkland and Ellis law firm is representing Morse for free, argued that the justices should defer to the judgment of the principal. Morse reasonably interpreted the banner as a pro-drug message, despite what Frederick intended, Starr said.
School officials are perfectly within their rights to curtail student speech that advocates drug use, he said. "The message here is, in fact, critical," Starr said.
Starr, joined by the Bush administration, also asked the court to adopt a broad rule that could essentially give public schools the right to clamp down on any speech with which they disagree. That argument did not appear to have widespread support among the justices.

atari 2600 · 03.27.2007, 10:29 AM

Ken Starr Hates Jesus, Free Speech and Bong Hits

Remember Ken Starr? Hillary didn’t have him murdered He didn’t commit suicide after all! On Monday, everybody’s favorite Church Lady will be arguing a very important case before the Supreme Court.
Back in 2002, a kid up in Alaska decided to put up a banner at his school — yes, they now have schools in Alaska. The banner said, obviously, BONG HITS 4 JESUS. Young dadaist Joseph Frederick said he just wanted to put some crazy stuff on a banner “as an absurdist way to assert his free-speech rights.” Oh, and the Olympic Torch and its Human Jogger-Carrier were passing the school that day. So the principal tore down the Jesus banner, and now Ken Starr will argue on behalf of the principal and the Bush Administration (really). On the other side, the ACLU and conservative Christian groups will argue for the rights of 14 year olds to put up BONG HITS 4 JESUS banners.
Starr 2 Argue 4 School Rules [WSJ Washington Wire]

atsonicpark · 03.27.2007, 10:43 AM

yawn.

floatingslowly · 03.27.2007, 11:52 AM

this is rediculous.

everyone knows that Jeezus uses a one-hitter.

krastian · 03.27.2007, 11:32 PM

^Gotta conserve!!

SynthethicalY · 03.28.2007, 12:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blatherskite

Is there anything Kenneth Starr won't suck?

Pussy.

SynthethicalY · 03.28.2007, 12:30 AM

You sure, if it doesn't smell funky, I don't think he is dumb enough to fall for that.

SynthethicalY · 03.28.2007, 12:33 AM

All I know that kids don't know much about the world to have all that freedom of speech.

08.28.2006, 03:24 PM	#1
atari 2600 invito al cielo Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 8,212	from today's Wall Street Journal http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2006/0...gars-to-bongs/ August 27, 2006, 2:41 pm Starr Goes From Cigars to Bongs President Clinton’s impeachment nemesis Kenneth Starr is staying busy. Monday, the former Independent Counsel is expected to file a petition asking the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold the suspension of a high school student disciplined for holding a banner across the street from campus reading, “BONG HITS 4 JESUS.” The incident occurred in January 2002, as the Olympic torch relay wound through Juneau, Alaska, en route to the winter games in Salt Lake City. As the torch passed by the school, student Joseph Frederick and friends unfurled the banner across the street from campus apparently to attract the attention of television cameras. A bong is a popular device used to smoke marijuana, inhalation from which is commonly known as a “bong hit.” The school principal suspended Mr. Frederick — allegedly the only student who disobeyed her command to put down the banner — for 10 days. Mr. Frederick claimed the suspension violated his First Amendment right to freedom of speech. A federal district judge sided with the school, but a panel on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit unanimously reversed. Mr. Starr and other attorneys in the Los Angeles office of Kirkland & Ellis have accepted the case pro bono. Should the court grant the petition, the outcome could hinge on whether the banner disrupted the educational process, whether watching the relay was a school-sponsored event, and whether Mr. Frederick — who had yet to enter school property that morning because his car had been stuck in the snow — was officially on campus. –Ben Winograd Read the petition to be filed with the Supreme Court. Permalink \| Trackback URL: http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2006/0...ngs/trackback/ Comments Report offensive comments to washwire@wsj.com Trackbacks […] You couldn’t make this shit up if you tried… from WSJ Wash Wire… […] Trackback by Bong Hits for Jesus, and Schrooms for Ashcroft « Lift While Climbing - August 27, 2006 at 10:02 pm […] more here from the Wall StreetJournal. […] Trackback by Bong Hits 4 Jesus « cannablog - August 28, 2006 at 1:23 pm
	\|QUOTE AND REPLY\|

08.28.2006, 03:27 PM	#2
!@#$%! invito al cielo Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: mars attacks Posts: 42,564	oh man. the ayatollahs...
	\|QUOTE AND REPLY\|

08.28.2006, 03:59 PM	#3
Rob Instigator invito al cielo Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: In the land of the Instigator Posts: 27,976	this is just the latest example of the infrigement of every right americans are willfully giving up to delude ourselves that we are "safe" __________________ RXTT's Intellectual Journey - my new blog where I talk about all the books I read.
	\|QUOTE AND REPLY\|

03.27.2007, 10:18 AM	#4
atari 2600 invito al cielo Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 8,212	updates
	\|QUOTE AND REPLY\|

03.27.2007, 10:18 AM	#5
atari 2600 invito al cielo Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 8,212	'Bong Hits 4 Jesus' case + Ken Starr = Supreme Court fun! posted by Paul Lester on Mar 20, 2007 5:43:00 AM Discuss This: Comments (1) \| TrackBack (0) \| Linking Blogs \| Add to del.icio.us \| Digg it Not only did the 'Bong Hits 4 Jesus' case make it all the way to the Supreme Court, but former independent counsel Kenneth Starr is representing the school's principal, which brings the case to another level of weirdness. Read on.. From the Associated Press WASHINGTON - A high school senior’s 14-foot banner proclaiming "Bong Hits 4 Jesus" gave the Supreme Court a provocative prop for a lively argument Monday about the extent of schools’ control over student speech. If the justices conclude Joseph Frederick’s homemade sign was a pro-drug message, they are likely to side with principal Deborah Morse. She suspended Frederick in 2002 when he unfurled the banner across the street from the school in Juneau, Alaska. "I thought we wanted our schools to teach something, including something besides just basic elements, including the character formation and not to use drugs," Chief Justice John Roberts said Monday. But the court could rule for Frederick if it determines that he was, as he has contended, conducting a free-speech experiment using a nonsensical message that contained no pitch for drug use. "It sounds like just a kid's provocative statement to me," Justice David Souter said. Students in public schools don’t have the same rights as adults, but neither do they leave their constitutional protections at the schoolhouse gate, as the court said in a landmark speech-rights ruling from the Vietnam era. Morse, now a Juneau schools administrator, was at the court Monday. Frederick, teaching and studying in China, was not. Kenneth Starr in court Former independent counsel Kenneth Starr, whose Kirkland and Ellis law firm is representing Morse for free, argued that the justices should defer to the judgment of the principal. Morse reasonably interpreted the banner as a pro-drug message, despite what Frederick intended, Starr said. School officials are perfectly within their rights to curtail student speech that advocates drug use, he said. "The message here is, in fact, critical," Starr said. Starr, joined by the Bush administration, also asked the court to adopt a broad rule that could essentially give public schools the right to clamp down on any speech with which they disagree. That argument did not appear to have widespread support among the justices.
	\|QUOTE AND REPLY\|

03.27.2007, 10:29 AM	#6
atari 2600 invito al cielo Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 8,212	Ken Starr Hates Jesus, Free Speech and Bong Hits Remember Ken Starr? Hillary didn’t have him murdered He didn’t commit suicide after all! On Monday, everybody’s favorite Church Lady will be arguing a very important case before the Supreme Court. Back in 2002, a kid up in Alaska decided to put up a banner at his school — yes, they now have schools in Alaska. The banner said, obviously, BONG HITS 4 JESUS. Young dadaist Joseph Frederick said he just wanted to put some crazy stuff on a banner “as an absurdist way to assert his free-speech rights.” Oh, and the Olympic Torch and its Human Jogger-Carrier were passing the school that day. So the principal tore down the Jesus banner, and now Ken Starr will argue on behalf of the principal and the Bush Administration (really). On the other side, the ACLU and conservative Christian groups will argue for the rights of 14 year olds to put up BONG HITS 4 JESUS banners. Starr 2 Argue 4 School Rules [WSJ Washington Wire]
	\|QUOTE AND REPLY\|

03.27.2007, 10:43 AM	#7
atsonicpark invito al cielo Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 28,843	yawn. __________________
	\|QUOTE AND REPLY\|

03.27.2007, 11:52 AM	#8
floatingslowly invito al cielo Join Date: Feb 2007 Posts: 21,165	this is rediculous. everyone knows that Jeezus uses a one-hitter.
	\|QUOTE AND REPLY\|

03.27.2007, 11:32 PM	#9
krastian invito al cielo Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Baltimore Posts: 7,808	^Gotta conserve!! __________________ Confusion is next and next after that is the Truth.
	\|QUOTE AND REPLY\|

03.28.2007, 12:30 AM	#11
SynthethicalY invito al cielo Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 7,408	You sure, if it doesn't smell funky, I don't think he is dumb enough to fall for that.
	\|QUOTE AND REPLY\|

03.28.2007, 12:33 AM	#12
SynthethicalY invito al cielo Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 7,408	All I know that kids don't know much about the world to have all that freedom of speech.
	\|QUOTE AND REPLY\|