Posted: August 10th, 2022

The violation of the 1st Amendments rights

The violation of the 1st Amendments rights
Please do the appropriate research as it pertains to the LS502 Fact Pattern. Based on your research, were Kylie’s and the rest of the groups 1st Amendment rights violated? If so what is their recourse for this situation?

Please use WESTLAW, and Cite correctly using Bluebook.

Locate 2 secondary sources that would help with situation. Provide the correct Bluebook citation and also a one paragraph summary of each source.
Provide 2 cases that provide information on this issue. Please provide the proper Bluebook citation and also a one paragraph summary of the case, including the precedent that it stands for.
Please provide one paragraph explaining how you went about doing your research.
Provide the databases you searched and also the key terms you utilized.
The violation of the 1st Amendments rights
The suspension of Kylie and the rest of the group members violated their 1st Amendment rights as prescribed under the united states constitution. The 1st Amendment prohibits Congress from making any laws abridging the freedom of speech, prohibiting the free exercise of freedom of speech or press the right of people to assemble peacefully, and the petitioning the government to redress the grievances(“The Constitution of the United States,” Amendment 1). Therefore, the 1st Amendment protects the freedom of assembly, religion, speech, assembly, and the right to petition the government. This freedom/right guaranteed under the American constitution makes America a free nation.
The case of Kylie and his group members at Harrison West High School in California were members of the American Social Justice Club. The club is tasked with identifying and discussing social issues happening to students across the nation. The club works together to enhance discussions and hold missions to achieve positive social changes (Killion, 2019). In this case, the group identified the guns in school as an issue of social concern that needed change to promote students’ safety. The group decided to march to Washington D.C. in support of stricter gun laws in schools. Consequently, the club needed to raise money for the mission through printing T-shirts and to sell them to the students. The –shirts were branded “Thank you for your thoughts and prayers, but we need stricter gun laws” on the front, and “Harrison West does not want to be next!!!” at the back. The day the club members decided to wear the T-Shirts, they received overwhelming support. The T-shirts created fear among some of the students that such a gun attack would happen in their institution. The club received 300 orders for the T-shirt. Consequently, the principal was upset with the event, and he prohibited the wearing of the T-shirts; the sale was canceled on the ground that the act violated the school handbook. Additionally, Kylie and the group members were suspended for two days leading to her missing schoolwork and compromising her future at Harvard.
The act of the principle violated the students’ 1st Amendment rights. In this regard, the denial to sell the T-shirts with the message on the use of strict gun regulations was in denial of the right to speech and press. Kylie and club members were suspended from the school, meaning that their rights to speech and press were being violated by the school (Meiklejohn, 2012). Additionally, the school’s suspensions violated the right to assembly and had peaceful protests. The campaign on T-shirts’ sale to raise money created a sense of peaceful protest within the school that made the principal unhappy, thus suspending the club members. The suspension attempt denied the student money to have a peaceful march and mobilize support from the students within their institution; thus, their right to peacefully protest or assemble was denied. Therefore, the whole process and interaction between the club members and the school administration (Principal) violated the 1st Amendment.
Sources summary
Book: WHAT DOES THE FIRST AMENDMENT MEAN?
Source: https://heinonline.org/hol-cgi-bin/get_pdf.cgi?handle=hein.journals/uclr20§ion=37
The book explains the actual meaning and operations of the First Amendment in enhancing freedom among Americans. The First Amendment declares that the United States people are free from government control, free to govern themselves in their way of choice, and free to control the governing bodies they have established as agents. The Amendment is directed towards ensuring that Americans exercise their free will with the government upholding the desired freewill. There is a need to exercise freedom without the violation of other people’s rights. The courts interpret the 1st Amendment to ensure that the different freedoms are upheld while respecting other parties’ rights.
Book: The First Amendment: Categories of Speech
Source: https://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/IF11072.pdf
The article evaluates the Free Speech Clause under the First Amendments. The Amendment prevents the government from “abridging the freedom of speech” but does not go to the freedoms’ details. In this regard, the Supreme Court interprets the clause to prevent the government from interfering with certain core areas of protected speech or even expressive conduct. On the other hand, the Supreme Court gives the government leeway to regulate different forms of speech and handle limited categories that the court views as unprotected.
Legal cases on the First Amendment
There are different court cases on the First Amendment that will give direction and information on Kylie and his club members’ issues. In this regard, in the case of Good News Club v. Milford Central Schools 533 U.S. 98 (2000), the Supreme Court argued that the government should not discriminate against speech that is done within a limited public forum based on the opinions expressed (Williams, 2013). In this regard, the gun issue is school is an issue of controversy, and thus students’ expressions should not be limited by the principal as the representative of the government in the school.
On the other hand, the case of Organization for Better Austin v. Keefe 402 U.S. 415 (1971) can favorably be used in guiding t5he freedoms of speech. In the case, the Supreme Court argued that the court could not prohibit peaceful distribution of pamphlets unless a heavy burden is met to justify the restrains (Lombardi, 2013). Therefore, the principal violated the First Amendment to restrict students to assemble in the sale and distribution of T-shirts containing protected information.

References
Killion, V. (2019). The First Amendment: Categories of Speech. Focus.
Lombardi, M. E. (2013). New York Times v. US: Implications and Relevance in the 21st Century.
Meiklejohn, A. (2012). What does the First Amendment mean. U. Chi. L. Rev., 20, 461.
Posner, R. A. (2011). The Bluebook Blues (reviewing Harvard Law Review Association, The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation (2010)). Yale Law Journal, 120, 852.
Williams, S. M. (2013). Age Equality for the Establishment Clause. Grove City CJL Pub Pol’y, 4, 61.

Order | Check Discount

Tags: The violation of the 1st Amendments rights