Quarterman v. Byrd

453 F.2d 960 (5th Cir. 1971)

Facts:

Charles Quarterman, a tenth-grade student at Pine Forest High School in North Carolina, was suspended for ten days for distributing an "underground" newspaper at the school in November, 1970. A school rule prohibited the distribution of publications by students without the express permission of the principal. Two months later, he distributed another newspaper with an article which concluded this statement in large capital letters:

". . . WE HAVE TO BE PREPARED TO FIGHT IN THE HALLS AND IN THE CLASSROOMS, OUT IN THE STREETS BECAUSE THE SCHOOLS BELONG TO THE PEOPLE. IF WE HAVE TO - WE'LL BURN THE BUILDINGS OF OUR SCHOOLS DOWN TO SHOW THESE PIGS THAT WE WANT AN EDUCATION THAT WON'T BRAINWASH US INTO BEING RACIST. AND THAT WE WANT AN EDUCATION THAT WILL TEACH US TO KNOW THE REAL TRUTH ABOUT THINGS WE NEED TO KNOW, SO WE CAN BETTER SERVE THE PEOPLE!!!"

He was again suspended for ten days.

Issue:

Is a school regulation prohibiting students from distributing publications without the express permission of the principal an unconstitutional prior restraint on students' First Amendment rights?

Decision:

Yes, this regulation is invalid because it lacks criteria to be followed by school officials in deciding whether to grant or to deny permission, as well as procedural safeguards for the review of the decision of school officials.

Reasoning:

Quarterman was not disciplined because of the potentially inflammatory and disruptive speech, but because he had violated the regulation prohibiting the distribution of printed material without permission. Therefore, his First Amendment rights to freedom of the press and expression were violated. Because the extent of free speech and expression is not absolute, and may be affected by the age or maturity of the audience to whom it is addressed, a rule with procedural safeguards and specific guidelines for determining what may be published or distributed in schools may be constitutional.

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