The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Christain students could not sue two principals for barring them from exchanging Christmas gifts including Christian-themed candy-cane pens, but a separate majority found that the principals violated the students’ right to free speech.
The court had little sympathy for the principals on the free speech issue, “The principals’ position in this litigation is extreme: at oral argument, when asked what rights students clearly have regarding religious speech, counsel for the principals replied that he did not know. This is not only unacceptable, it is unreasonable. A reasonable school official is presumed to know the law. It is clearly established law that viewpoint discrimination is verboten.” -db
From the Courthouse News Service, September 28, 2011, by Barbara Leonard.