Student Faces Criminal Charges For Teacher Jokes

[bparker]

What happened to free speech? Do we yet again forget the valuable supreme court case People vs Larry Flint?

[f5fstop]

There are limits to free speech. You can't threaten someone's life, you can't yell fire in a theater, and you face civil charges for defamation of character. I don't believe Larry Flint was defaming anyone, he was publishing photos of willing people, and the religious right did not like it.
However, SCOTUS ruled in Roth v. United States (in 1957) that 'obscene' material has no protection under the First Amendment. According to the Court, the guarantees of the freedom of expression were never meant to be absolute protection for every possible utterance of any sort - therefore, some standards are reasonable to set.

In New York Times Co. v. Sullivan, 376 U.S. 254 (1964), the court ruled, "Factual error, content defamatory of official reputation, or both, are insufficient to warrant an award of damages for false statements unless "actual malice" -- knowledge that statements are false or in reckless disregard of the truth -- is alleged and proved."

We will probably never know what finally happens in this case.

[bparker]

But I thought he was defaming Rev Jerry Fartwell =) Wasnt that the point of the case?

Originally Posted by f5fstop

I don't believe Larry Flint was defaming anyone

[ratesguy]

Yeah, I think he had a cartoon of Fallwell getting teh buttsecks and Fallwell sued for defamation. That case was not an obscenity case, but rather a case of satire vs. defamation. Fallwell lost. Also, all of you out there sure better monitor your kids postings and use of myspace. Bad things go on there, and bad people (pervs) hang out there. Spoken as the father of a 16 y/o girl and 14 y/o boy, not as a perv. I really don't think the teacher has a case, though. It sounds like satire or some such. Not cool tho.

[Sewie]

Originally Posted by ratesguy

Yeah, I think he had a cartoon of Fallwell getting teh buttsecks and Fallwell sued for defamation. That case was not an obscenity case, but rather a case of satire vs. defamation. Fallwell lost.

Falwell actually won the lawsuit in two lower courts before it reached the Supreme Court.

And the reason Flynt finally won was because the cartoon was so absurd that a reasonable person would never believe it. The cartoon said that he lost his virginity to his mother while drunk in an outhouse. There was also the fact that Falwell was a public figure.

While the teacher may not have a case, I think its important that the student learns that his actions may have consequences. It may be a lesson for the parents as well.

[f5fstop]

Falwell is an idiot. As for the kid, make him work at GM when he graduates. That will be punishment enough for anyone.

[evldave]

Originally Posted by f5fstop

Falwell is an idiot. As for the kid, make him work at GM when he graduates. That will be punishment enough for anyone.

lol! I wonder what his myspace page would say about Wagoner?