Judge dismisses case over Confederate flag
Native Nashvillian
I am glad to see this ruling. What is sad
to me is Tom Defoe will end up being support
in the state prison. This kid is and idiot
from the get-go.
I do admire Defoe's lawyer. He rip-off the
family and got away with it. He knew he
would not win this case.
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FROM:
http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2009/aug/12/judge-dismisses-case-over-confederate-flag/?partner=RSS
Judge dismisses case over Confederate flag
By Bob Fowler
Posted August 12, 2009 at midnight
A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by
a former Anderson County High School student
over his wearing Confederate flag symbols.
U.S. District Judge Thomas A. Varlan's decision,
issued Tuesday, comes two weeks before Tom Defoe's
case was to be retried in federal court.
Defoe contended his civil rights were violated
in 2006 when he was suspended from school for
wearing a Confederate flag symbol on a belt
buckle. He maintained it was an expression of
pride in his Southern heritage.
The school system's dress code bans such displays.
Varlan in his memorandum opinion cites earlier
federal court rulings that have restricted
students' rights to free speech.
Those rights are limited, the courts have
previously opined, "due to the special
characteristics of the school environment,"
the judge notes in his opinion.
Student free speech, including what students wear,
can be regulated if school officials believe it
would cause a "disruption to the learning
environment," the opinion states.
School officials banned Confederate flag displays
because of their concerns they would lead to a
"material and substantial disruption," according
to the opinion.
The judge in his ruling states that both Anderson
County High and the Anderson County Career and
Technical Center "have recently experienced
intense racial conflict."
Incidents described in testimony during the trial
last August of Defoe's case, which ended in a
mistrial, are cited, including:
-- A Confederate flag hung in the high school
hallway two days after two blacks enrolled;
-- The tossing of Oreo cookies onto the gym floor
at a basketball game where a player from the
opposing team was biracial;
-- Racist graffiti scattered around campus and
a drawing of a hangman's noose, along with the
name of a black student and the girl he dated.
"The decisions made by the (school) board and the
administrators who were sued were reasonable, and
I think the court felt that," said attorney
Arthur F. Knight III, who represented the school
board.
Knight said he was especially pleased for the
three career administrators who had been sued for
compensatory and punitive damages.
Attorney Van R. Irion, who represented Defoe, was
unavailable for comment. Defoe declined comment
Tuesday, saying he was unaware of the judge's
ruling.
Bob Fowler, News Sentinel Anderson County
editor, may be reached at 865-481-3625.
..