Court Rules MySpace Postings are Free Speech

A Court of Appeals in Indiana has ruled that a judge violated the First Amendment rights of a teen when he placed her on probation for posting an expletive-laden entry on MySpace criticizing a school principal. In February 2006, Greencastle Middle School Principal Shawn Gobert discovered a Web page on MySpace purportedly created by him. The unidentified teen, who did not create the page, made derogatory postings on it concerning the school's policy on body piercing. The state filed a delinquency petition in March alleging that teen's acts would have been harassment, identity deception and identity theft if committed by an adult. A judge ruled that her comments were obscene and placed her on nine months probation. The teen argued that her comments were protected political speech under both the state and federal constitutions because they dealt with school policy. This incident magnifies the growing concern of many schools about exactly where does a school's authority end. Will parent and teachers become more and more adversaries rather than partners because of these kinds of incidents? Would love to hear your comments on this.