ACLU Nebraska Legal Program - Free Speech
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You have the right to remain silent...during the Pledge of
Allegiance. The right to free speech also includes the
right to no speech. Students at Everett Elementary School in
Lincoln were surprised when a new policy of saying the Pledge every
day was unveiled, since this multi-ethnic school had never done the
Pledge in the past. But the real problem was that one teacher
believed she had the right to force every student to participate in
the Pledge. Students who refused to participate were going to
be sent to "time out" as punishment. After ACLU intervention,
the Lincoln Public Schools Superintendent contacted the school and
instructed every teacher to respect the rights of students to NOT
say the Pledge. (February, 2008)
ACLU Defends Free Speech Rights of Westboro Baptist Church. Kansas
resident Shirley Phelps-Roper is a member of the Westboro Baptist
Church. She and other members of the group came to Bellevue,
Nebraska, to protest in front of a soldier's funeral. While
protesting, Shirley tied an American flag around her waist and
allowed her son to stand on another flag. The police put her
in handcuffs, removed her from the protest, and booked her on
charges of "flag mutilation" despite the fact that the US
Supreme Court has held there is no such crime on three different
occasions. ACLU Nebraska announced it will defend her in
court with cooperating attorney Bassel El-Kasaby. The case is
currently proceeding forward.
(June 8, 2007)
Isaiah May was told not to come back to watch a Beatrice High
basketball game until he changed his t-shirt. His shirt
said "Heckler" across the front. Beatrice High had a dress
code that said no one attending a school event could bring a sign or
shirt with a "negative" message. Isaiah was asked to leave two
separate games because his shirt was perceived as negative.
After ACLU intervention, the school changed the dress code so it
only affected students, and not members of the general public.
(February 2006)
The Richardson County Sheriff's office asked him to take down
a sign on his front door. Troy was disappointed with
decisions made by local government officials in Humboldt, Nebraska,
so he posted a sign on his front door. The sign said "F***
Humboldt." As a result, he was visited by a deputy who
threatened him with arrest if he didn't remove the sign. The
Supreme Court held long ago that the "F word" is constitutionally
protected speech under the First Amendment. The ACLU has
warned law enforcement that everyone has the right to free speech on
their own property--even when it is strong language. (November 2005) Top
A Millard high school student just wanted to hand out flyers
against the war. The flyers didn't say anything obscene,
violent, or inappropriate: they just had his personal opinion about
the war in Iraq. He was stopped by school authorities, his
flyers were confiscated, and he was warned not to bring the flyers
back or he would face suspension. After ACLU intervention, the
school acknowledged they were wrong, and the student has been
allowed to distribute his flyers at the times indicated by the
student handbook. (May 2005) Top
A 64 year old veteran was charged with a crime for
flying his flag upside down. Larry Lentz lives on a rural
route in Loup County. He served during the Vietnam War and
re-enlisted later in the Army and Naval Reserves. Now retired,
he decided to fly his flag upside down in October, 2004, in order to
express his opinion about current events. The Loup County
Sheriff visited him and issued a criminal ticket for flag
desecration. After ACLU Nebraska discussions with the County
Attorney, Mr. Lentz's ticket has been dismissed and the flag
confiscated by law enforcement will be returned...just in time for
Veteran's Day. Top
A nurse employed at a county hospital spoke out as a whistleblower about unsafe conditions relating to
patient-nurse ratios, etc., and was fired without a proper hearing. ACLU Nebraska filed a federal lawsuit
claiming her First Amendment rights were violated. The case was settled in 2002 to the satisfaction of our
client. Top
Kip Hookstra observed a police arrest in downtown Lincoln which he believed was improper. Kip watched from
across the street, shouted his protest to the officer, and then walked away with his fist raised in a
gesture of defiance. Despite the fact Kip did not physically intervene or otherwise affect the arrest and
was in fact leaving the scene, the officer chased him and arrested him. The late Patrick Healy, one of the
founding members of ACLU Nebraska, represented Kip in the criminal case, and his partner and longtime ACLU
supporter Robert Bartle handled the appeals to the Nebraska Court of Appeals and Nebraska Supreme Court.
In February 2002, the Nebraska Supreme Court ruled against Hookstra and said that his conduct was not
protected by the First Amendment. While we are disappointed by the ultimate result, we are satisfied that
we took every step available to defend Mr. Hookstra’s First Amendment rights. Top
