Students file lawsuit over confiscated newspapers

By The Associated Press

01.10.03

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CLEVELAND — Student editors at a high school newspaper filed a lawsuit yesterday accusing their school district of violating their First Amendment rights by confiscating an entire edition of the publication.

U.S. District Court Judge Donald C. Nugent turned down a request from the four Wooster High School students for a temporary restraining order that would have prevented the district from prohibiting the newspaper's distribution.

Last month, the district confiscated 4,500 copies of the biweekly paper on the advice of lawyers who said the publication contained inaccuracies and was potentially libelous.

Student editors said the copies of The Wooster Blade were seized because the newspaper contained a story saying athletes and the daughter of a school board member drank alcohol at a party in November.

An effort is under way to publish the controversial edition in altered forum. The school district will identify what it finds objectionable in the story — likely students' names — and student editors will "white out" the copy, said Kenneth Myers, a lawyer for the students. The editors will make other changes in consultation with their faculty adviser and write a story for publication explaining why there are deleted portions, Myers said.

"We're still going to fight for the right to publish it as is," he said after Nugent made his ruling.

The school's principal, James Jackson, said a teacher had told him about a possible confidentiality problem related to a story about the party.

Jackson said federal law forbids identifying students who face disciplinary action unless their parents allow the students' names to be listed. He said violating privacy rights could leave the school vulnerable to lawsuits.

At least two students said they were misquoted in statements that "attributed to them acts of misconduct and potentially acts of criminal behavior," school Superintendent David Estrop said.

Students at the paper stood by their reporting.

The school district's policy is for students to make all final decisions on editorial content in the newspaper. The policy says that freedom does not extend to material that is obscene or defamatory or would disrupt school activities. The faculty adviser reviews the newspaper before publication to screen for that type of content.

Estrop said the newspaper's adviser was unable to review the Dec. 20 issue before its deadline because she had been called away on a family matter.

The student editors' lawsuit requests damages and asks the court to prevent the district from carrying out discipline until further court action is taken.

Mike Hiestand, an attorney for the Student Press Law Center, in Arlington, Va., said he reviewed the reporting at the student editors' request and saw nothing in the story that violated libel laws.

Whether school administrators can insist on prior review of a student publication has been an issue in high school journalism since 1988, when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled limits can be set on the free-press rights of high school students.

The case, Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier, concerned students at a suburban St. Louis high school who were prevented by their principal from publishing certain stories.

Update

Student editors lose bid to halt future seizures of school newspaper
Federal judge finds request for preliminary injunction failed to provide evidence that Ohio district would again confiscate The Wooster Blade.  02.18.03

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Superintendent orders high school newspapers seized
Article in Wooster (Ohio) Blade said athletes, school board member's daughter drank booze at party.  12.23.02