Case Summaries 
of Importance to Counties

2010 Constitutional Law

• Defoe v. Spiva, 36 TAM 3-39—Student was suspended from school for wearing Confederate flag clothing.  Student filed suit against Anderson County alleging violations of the First and Fourteenth Amendments.  The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the district court’s grant of summary judgment for Anderson County.  According to the Court, the standard to be applied in these cases comes from the case of Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District, 393 U.S. 503 (1969).  While students and teachers do have First Amendment rights in the classroom, under that case, the standard to apply to determine whether those rights have been violated is whether the school system reasonably forecasted that the First Amendment display at issue could cause substantial disruption or materially interfere with the learning environment.  In this case, the Court found that the school could reasonably forecast such disruption or interference because the school in question had experienced racial violence, tension and threats (November 18, 2010).