CINCINNATI — Two Kentucky State University students askedyesterday that the full panel of judges sitting on the U.S. Courtof Appeals for the Sixth Circuit reconsider a Sept. 8 decisionby a three-judge panel that upheld the school’s censorship ofthe student newspaper and yearbook. School officials confiscatedthe yearbook and removed the newspaper adviser almost five yearsago.
Lawyers for Capri Coffer and Charles Kincaid argued in their writtenpetition to the court that the three-judge panel that initiallyheard their case ignored over thirty years of legal precedentproviding strong First Amendment protection to college studentmedia when it ruled that KSU broke no laws in locking up some2,000 copies of the yearbook for “quality” reasons andtransferring the newspaper adviser to a secretarial position becauseshe refused to censor material critical of the administration.KSU officials said they confiscated the yearbooks because theywere upset with grammatical errors, the lack of photo captions,the inclusion of a current events section in the book and thedecision of the editor to publish the yearbook with a purple cover,instead of one in the school’s official colors of green and yellow.
The yearbooks remain locked away in a KSU storage room; schoolofficials have said they will eventually be destroyed.
Representatives from every accredited journalism program in theSixth Circuit (which covers Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee),as well as groups representing student media, educators, professionaljournalists and civil liberties advocates also filed a friendof the court brief on Tuesday urging the court to rehear the case.
The coalition told the court that the Sept. 8 ruling was both”unjustified and extremely dangerous.”
“The [Sept. 8] decision not only unconstitutionally censorsthe speech involved in this case, its potential consequences placeat risk the entire spectrum of expressive activities on campus,including faculty expression,” the coalition argued.
Mark Goodman, executive director of the Student Press Law Center,said the court’s Sept. 8 ruling came as a shock to the civil libertiesand student press community. He is optimistic that the full courtwill come to a different conclusion.
“The size and breadth of the group that has joined in onevoice to ask the court to reconsider this case is unprecedented,”said Goodman. “I sincerely hope that the judges of the SixthCircuit will be moved by our concern and take a second look atthis troubling court ruling.”
The court’s decision on whether to rehear the case is expectedin about six weeks.
The coalition’s brief was written by the Cincinnati-based lawfirm of Frost & Jacobs, which donated its services.
Mark Goodman, Executive DirectorStudent Press Law Center(703) 807-1904
Richard Goehler, coalition attorneyFrost & Jacobs(513) 651-6711
Bruce Orwin, Attorney for Plaintiff Students(606) 678-4386
Hinfred McDuffyVice President for University AdvancementKentucky State University(502) 227-6760
A copy of the coalition’s brief as well as background informationabout the case can be viewed on the Student Press Law Center’sWeb site at:
http://www.splc.org/newsflashes/kincaidinfo.html
List of groups that joined in thebrief in support of the request for rehearing:
Student Media Groups
Student Press Law Center;The Associated Collegiate Press;The Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication;The Association of Schools of Journalismand Mass Communication; College Media Advisers Inc.;The Community College Journalism Association;The Kentucky Intercollegiate Press Association;The Society for Collegiate Journalists;The Southwestern Journalism Congress;The Texas Intercollegiate Press Association;The Texas Community College Journalism Association.
Sixth Circuit Journalism Schools Representatives
The Department of Journalism and Mass Communications, Murray State University;School of Journalism and Telecommunications,University of Kentucky;Department of Journalism, Western Kentucky University;Faculty, Department of Journalism, Central Michigan University;School of Journalism, Michigan State University;Department of Journalism, Bowling Green State University;School of Journalism and Mass Communication,Kent State University;E.W. Scripps School of Journalism, Ohio University;Faculty, School of Journalism and Communication, Ohio State University;Jack Mooney, Ph.D., Professor, Division of Journalism,East Tennessee State University;School of Journalism, Middle Tennessee State University;Dan Lattimore, Ph.D., Chair, Department of Journalism, University of Memphis;Dwight Teeter, Jr., Ph.D. Dean, College of Communication andProfessor of Journalism, University of Tennessee;Communication Department, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga;Department of Communication, University of Tennessee at Martin.
Civil Liberties, Professional Educators and News Media Groups
American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky;The American Association of University Professors;The American Society of Newspaper Editors;The National Council of Teachers of English;The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press;The Society of Professional Journalists;The Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression.