The Southern
Legal
Resource Center
NEWS RELEASE
For Immediate Release: Wednesday, May 3, 2006
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Opening arguments in Confederate t-shirt case
to be heard Thursday in Knoxville
KNOXVILLE , TN – Round one of a lawsuit over the Blount County School Board's ban on Confederate symbols on school property will take place in federal court here Thursday afternoon at 1:30 .
The suit, brought by the parents of three William Blount High School students, charges the school board and Principal Steve Lafon with violating the students' constitutional rights by subjecting them to disciplinary action for wearing items depicting the Confederate flag. The incidents occurred between May, 2005, and January, 2006 and violated the students' First Amendment right of free speech, as well as their Fourteenth Amendment right to equal protection and due process, the suit alleges.
Thursday's proceedings will consist of oral arguments regarding a motion for injunctive relief and a temporary restraining order, sought by Knoxville attorney Van Irion and the Southern Legal Resource Center of Black Mountain, North Carolina, co-counsel for the plaintiffs. If granted by the court, these provisions would have the effect of halting the school's ban on Confederate symbols, although that decision could be appealed.
Lafon, William Blount teacher Mark Williamson and the school board have also been named as co-defendants in a separate lawsuit which charges that the girlfriend of one of the plaintiff students in the first suit was threatened, harassed and improperly photographed in retaliation. The plaintiffs are seeking $10 million in damages in that action, which may also be taken up by the court during an evaluation hearing on Thursday.
-end-
For additional
information, contact:
Roger McCredie
The Southern Legal Resource Center
(828) 669-5189
