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UNIFORM LAWSUIT VERDICT TO BE APPEALED

By Ray King/OF THE COMMERCIAL STAFF
Wednesday, October 17, 2007 10:00 AM CDT

Attorneys for the Watson Chapel School District will appeal a federal judge’s ruling in a lawsuit filed against the district’s uniform policies and the way they are enforced.

A notice of appeal filed Monday said the district has decided to “specifically appeal the finding by the District Court that the discipline imposed upon students for wearing black armbands was an unconstitutional violation of free speech and that its prior approval policy concerning handing out literature on school premises was a per se violation of free speech.”

The notice of appeal, signed by attorney Mike Dennis, who with Brandon Robinson represented the school district, was forwarded to the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals at St. Louis later Monday.

“The school district felt strongly that we needed to appeal the decision because they’re obviously proud of their school, and the uniform policy, and feel like if we didn’t appeal it would set a bad precedent,” Robinson said Tuesday afternoon.

After a three-day trial in September, Judge Leon Holmes ruled that the district violated the rights of students Chris Lowry, Colton Dougan and Michael Joseph when the three were disciplined for wearing black armbands to protest the uniform policies on Oct. 6, 2006.

The school district, former Superintendent Danny Knight and Junior High School Principal Henry Webb were named in the lawsuit, which was filed by attorneys for the American Civil Liberties Union. Members of the Watson Chapel School Board were also named, but they were dismissed prior to the beginning of the trial.

On Friday, Holmes signed an order amending the jury verdict and awarding Lowry, who is no longer a student at the school, Dougan and Joseph $1 each as nominal damages as required by law.

In that order, Holmes said the district’s attorneys stipulated that the student suspensions were because the armbands indicated disagreement with the uniform policy, and also stipulated that the armbands caused no disruption or interference with the school.

In awarding the damages, Holmes said the jury decision that Knight and Webb did not intentionally violate the students’ rights failed to follow an instruction regarding the awarding of at least nominal damages.

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