Student loses lawsuit concerning fake MySpace page

Photo by Doug Lindley
© May 30, 2008 Associated Press

By Dara Kahn

According to the First Amendment Center, J.S., a student at Blue Mountain Middle School in Orwigsburg, Pennsylvania, has lost her free-speech lawsuit against her school district, the superintendent and the principal, James McGonigle, in one of the state’s federal district court. U.S. District Judge James M. Munley delivered the decision on September 11, noting that J.S. was at fault because the Web page was vulgar and lewd.

J.S., a minor, created a fake MySpace profile page for McGonigle, which used a copyrighted photograph without permission and listed numerous false statements about McGonigle, including descriptions of him being a pedophile and that he enjoyed pornography. Though she — and the friend who helped her — set the page to “private,” it was printed out and distributed at school. McGonigle heard about it from another teacher, found out J.S. was involved, and suspended both students for 10 days for violation of a school policy that prohibits such actions.

The parents of J.S., Terry and Steven Snyder, were the ones who initiated the lawsuit, claiming their daughter’s First Amendment rights had been violated because her content was created off-campus and didn’t cause a considerable disruption at school.

The court ruled in favor of McGonigle, using Bethel School District v. Fraser (1986) as a precedent, saying that he was allowed to punish J.S. This case established that public schools officials can discipline students who use vulgar, lewd speech at a school assembly or similar situation. Judge Munley dismissed the plaintiff’s argument that the school had no power over material created off-campus, saying “The website addresses the principal of the school. Its intended audience is students at the school. A paper copy of the website was brought into school, and the website was discussed in school.”

For more information about publishing information on- versus off-campus, read the First Amendment Center’s section on “Underground Papers and Off-Campus Speech.”