W. Joseph Hatley, Tuesday, June 07, 2011 | Filed under: First Amendment
A Pennsylvania middle school's effort to ban "I Heart Boobies" bracelets failed, when a federal court there ruled that the ban violated two female students' free speech rights. The court's decision explains the history behind the bracelets, and the legitimate public awareness campaign that motivated the marketing of the bracelets. The court further concluded that the bracelets were not lewd speech, given the context of the bracelets' purpose. Finally, the court discounted the school's contention that the bracelets had caused substantial disruption of the school, despite evidence that (as one might expect from middle school students) the bracelets had led to several off-color comments by other students.