Supreme Court Rules In Favor Of PA Cursing Cheerleader

PENNSYLVANIA — In a major free speech decision Wednesday, the U.S. Supreme Court sided with a Pennsylvania teenager who was punished for cursing out her school in a Snapchat post.

The court voted 8-1 that the Mahanoy Public School District, in Schuylkill County, was wrong to discipline Brandi Levy. Levy was a 14-year-old high school freshman four years ago when she took to Snapchat with a string of curse words after she did not make the junior varsity cheerleading squad.

In response, the school suspended her from cheerleading activities for a full year, launching an extensive legal battle.

The case was notable for several reasons, not the least of which in how it limited itself: it reaffirmed once again that schools do, in some cases, have the right to censor speech, even if it's online or not in school. However, in this particular case, Levy's First Amendment rights were violated.

"While public schools may have a special interest in regulating some off-campus student speech, the special interests offered by the school are not sufficient to overcome B. L.’s interest in free expression in this case," Justice Stephen Breyer wrote in the majority opinion.

Analysts noted where the court drew the line.

"Manahoy predictably waffles on the big question, leaving still too much room for educators to censor," attorney J.T. Morris shared.

The decision drew wide praise from both sides of the aisle.

"#SCOTUS has affirmed what we’ve said all along - students have greater free speech rights when they are out of school and on their own time," the ACLU of Pennsylvania said in a statement.

"Leftist teachers and administrators have no place regulating off-campus free expression on the internet and in the home," Gov. Scott Walker, president of the conservative Young America's Foundations, said in a statement. "Today’s ruling empowers YAF students to continue speaking their minds about how their conservative ideas are right for our country."

Justices referenced Tinker v. Des Moines as precedent, a 1960s case where students were punished for protesting the Vietnam War in school. The Supreme Court ultimately sided with the students, noting their free speech rights do not vanish when they enter school.

Justice Clarence Thomas was the lone dissenting vote, saying he would have upheld the suspension.

Read the court's full ruling online here.