Case Categories: Confederate Flag and Student Speech

The Confederate flag continues to generate controversy and impassioned debates with implications for the First Amendment.

Here are some cases at the federal appellate level that involved First Amendment speech issues and the Confederate Flag:

• Hardwick v. Heyward (4th Cir.) (2013)

  Hardwick v. Heyward (4th. Cir. 2013) ruled that public school officials did not violate the First Amendment rights of a public school student who wore...

• Melton v. Young (6th Cir.) (1972)

  Melton v. Young (6th Cir. 1972) represents a time a court had to grapple with the troubling question of the First Amendment and Confederate flag clothing in...

• West v. Derby Unified School District (10th Cir.) (2000)

  West v. Derby Unified School District (10th. Cir. 2000) ruled that suspending a high school student for drawing a Confederate flag did not violate his First...