A high-powered Los Angeles law firm on Monday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review whether Juneau Douglas School District had a right to punish a student who stood off school grounds during the passing of the Olympic torch holding a banner that read, "Bong Hits 4 Jesus."
The phrase is so giggle-worthy, so odd, so catchy, that the entire lengthy legal affair is often referred to simply as the "Bong Hits 4 Jesus case."
At its core: Juneau-Douglas High School principal Deborah Morse, the Juneau School Board and then-senior Joseph Frederick, who is now a teacher in China. Court records outline what happened that day, Jan. 24, 2002:
The torch passed the school. Some kids had skipped out to make fast food runs. Others cheered. Frederick and some buddies stood across the street and held up their 10-foot banner.
Morse crossed the street, grabbed the sign and ultimately suspended Frederick for 10 days. District officials agreed his banner violated school anti-drug policies.
Enter the Alaska Civil Liberties Union. That group said that Frederick was off campus and drug free and the school clearly smothered his rights to free speech.
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Kirkland & Ellis LLP -- a 1,100-attorney law firm with offices around the country and clients around the world -- is representing the Juneau School Board and Morse.
Lead counsel on the case includes Kenneth Starr, author of the infamous Starr Report to Congress on the Monica Lewinsky sex scandal that led to the impeachment of President Clinton.
In this case, Starr's team argues the U.S. Supreme Court should review the Bong Hits 4 Jesus case because "the Ninth Circuit's decision, as a practical matter, renders long-standing school policies against pro-drug messages unenforceable," according to a press release the law office sent out Monday.
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"This case raises an issue of vital importance to every school principal and administrator in the country," Starr said, in a statement from his office.
(emphasis added)
