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Ruling allows student suspended for Facebook hate page to file lawsuit
by Jaspreet Virk - February 17, 2010 - comments
Back in late 2007, the 18-year-old Evans, studying in Pembroke Pines Charter High School in Florida, had created a Facebook page to give vent to her annoyance against her English teacher.
Katherine Evans, a student from Florida who was reprimanded for creating a Facebook page against her teacher, can continue her lawsuit against the principal of her former school, according to a ruling by a federal judge.
Evans had filed a law suit against her School Principal Peter Bayer in 2008, alleging that by suspending her Bayer had infringed her First Amendment rights.
U.S. Magistrate Barry Garber stated, “Evans' speech falls under the wide umbrella of protected speech.... It was an opinion of a student about a teacher, that was published off-campus ... was not lewd, vulgar, threatening, or advocating illegal or dangerous behavior.”
Evans suspended for cyber bullying
Back in late 2007, the 18-year-old Evans, studying in Pembroke Pines Charter High School in Florida, had created a Facebook page vent her annoyance against her English teacher.
The page was named “Ms. Sarah Phelps is the worst teacher I’ve ever met!” and it featured the photograph of Phelps and invited other students to express their feeling of hatred for the teacher by posting comments on the page.
"To those select students who have had the displeasure of having Ms. Sarah Phelps, or simply knowing her and her insane antics: Here is the place to express your feelings of hatred," Evans wrote on the Web page.
Three of her classmates posted comments, praising the teacher and chiding Evans. One of the comments stated, “Mrs. Phelps is one of the most amazing teachers I've ever had and there's plenty of people who agree with me. Whatever your reasons for hating her are, they're probably very immature.”
The hostility from her fellow students prompted Evans to take down the page. When Bayer learned about the hate group, Evans was suspended.
Ruling supports Evans
The filing by Evans had stirred a debate on the First Amendment rights. The experts differed on the limits of freedom of speech on social networking sites.
Many argued that the First Amendment rights are not applicable to social networking technology.
Even the U.S. Supreme Court has never specially mentioned the limits of freedom of speech online.
But now a federal magistrate has ruled that Evans has the right to complain about her teacher on Facebook, under the First Amendment rights.
In a ruling Garber stated, “It was an opinion of a student about a teacher, that was published off-campus, did not cause any disruption on-campus, and was not lewd, vulgar, threatening, or advocating illegal or dangerous behavior.”