I've been following the saga of Katie
Sierra, a 15-year-old high-schooler who sued the local school board in West Virginia
for refusing to allow her to start an anarchy club.
Yesterday, a Kanawha County jury ruled
that school officials violated her First Amendment rights.
Katie sought one dollar in the lawsuit
she filed after she was suspended from Sissonville High School in October for trying
to start the club. She withdrew from school last year after she was allegedly harassed
by other students, but says she will return in the fall to start her club.
She wanted
to be allowed to start the club, to wear T-shirts with handwritten messages opposing
US military action in Afghanistan, and to have the suspension removed from her records.
School officials argued the club and the T-shirts were disruptive to the education
process.
The verdict was a mixed victory for
Sierra. The jury awarded her the dollar and agreed that she should have been allowed
to start the club. But, the jury members said the school was justified in not allowing
her to wear the T-shirts, and said the three-day suspension was a proper punishment.
The jury deliberated for about three
hours, capping off a five-day trial that attracted Court
TV and other media. Supporters of both sides packed the gallery in the courthouse.
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