Prior case law The
First Amendment to the
United States Constitution protects the
freedom of speech. In
Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District (1969), the Court held that speech made by students in public schools is protected by the First Amendment unless the speech causes a "substantial disruption" to the learning environment.
Facts of the case in
Spanaway, Washington, where the incident took place On April 26, 1983, an assembly was held at
Bethel High School in
Spanaway, Washington for
student council elections to take place. Students were required to either attend the assembly or report to study hall. At the assembly, Matthew Fraser, a 17-year-old
senior, gave a speech nominating a classmate for student council
vice president. To an audience of about 600 students and teachers, Fraser delivered the following speech: It took Fraser about one minute to deliver the speech. As he delivered it, several students in the audience "hooted and yelled" while others appeared "bewildered and embarrassed". Fraser's candidate, Jeff Kuhlman, ultimately won the election with 90 percent of the vote. While the speech was not outwardly
obscene, Fraser described Kuhlman "through the use of sexual metaphor and double entendre", which many observers found offensive. Prior to the assembly, two of Fraser's teachers warned him that the speech was inappropriate and that he "probably should not deliver it" because doing so could have "severe consequences", though they did not suggest that delivering it would violate school rules. The morning after the assembly, Fraser was called to the office, where the Assistant Principal informed him that his speech violated a school rule against "disruptive conduct", which prohibited the use of "obscene, profane language or gestures". Fraser admitted to using sexual innuendo in his speech deliberately and defended it as necessary to reach his core audience. Fraser was suspended for three days and his name was removed from the pool of eligible graduation speakers. Fraser appealed the decision through the school district's grievance procedures and was still found to be in violation of the "disruptive conduct" rule, though he was allowed to return to school after serving only two days of his three-day suspension. Despite his ban from speaking at graduation, Fraser was selected as a graduation speaker by a write-in vote which placed him second overall among the top three finishers. Although Bethel High School administrators refused to accept the write-in vote as a valid result, and continued to deny Fraser the opportunity to speak at graduation, Fraser ultimately spoke at graduation following a District Court ruling. With approval from his parents and help from
American Civil Liberties Union cooperating attorney Jeff Haley, Fraser filed a lawsuit against the school authorities claiming a violation of his First Amendment right to
free speech.
Lower court proceedings United States District Court judge
Jack Edward Tanner ruled in his favor. The school district then appealed to the
Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which again ruled in Fraser's favor. The school district asked the
U.S. Supreme Court to consider the case. The Supreme Court granted
certiorari on October 8, 1985. ==Opinion of the Court==