February 8, 2008
Judge Tom
1

“Tiger Tracks” with a little schnapps

The January issue of a junior high school newspaper in Des Moines, Iowa, came out with a little kick to it. Tiger Tracks included a recipe for hot chocolate that included peppermint schnapps.

Once discovered, school officials pulled all remaining issues off the racks. Stilwell Junior High Principal Tim Miller described the oversight in the editing process as an innocent mistake. The student who submitted the recipe thought schnapps was candy, not liquor.

Photo by Styleserver (Flickr)

In 1988 the U.S. Supreme Court decided a case about school censorship and its relationship to student expression on campus. This was the Hazelwood case that dealt with articles written by the school’s newspaper staff about teen pregnancy and divorce.

Find out about another case of school censorship involving a yearbook photo of a student holding a can of beer.

Judge Tom

The Author Judge Tom

Judge Tom is the founder and moderator of AsktheJudge.info. He is a retired juvenile judge and spent 23 years on the bench. He has written several books for lawyers and judges as well as teens and parents including 'Teen Cyberbullying Investigated' (Free Spirit Publishing) and 'Every Vote Matters: the Power of Your Voice, from Student Elections to the Supreme Court' (Free Spirit Publishing). In 2020, the American Bar Association published "Cyberbullying Law," the nation's first case-law book written for lawyers, judges and law students. When he's not answering teens' questions, Judge Tom volunteers with the American Red Cross and can be found hiking, traveling and reading.

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1 Comment

  • Debbie Simmons
    March 13, 2017 5:08 pm count( 0 )

    Does a School Police Officer have the right to take a 13 year olds cell phone and tell them it belongs to them now, because of a boy sending pictures of himself.
    Dear Debbie: Take a look at the school’s Code of Conduct and Student Handbook for the rules & penalties regarding digital devices on campus. You can find them on the school’s website or ask at the front office for a copy. It is not unusual for law enforcement, including a school resource officer, to confiscate a cell phone, tablet, etc. that contains evidence of either a crime or rule violation. Once the investigation is completed, you may be able to get the phone back. Good luck.
    (This is information only – not legal advice).