Thursday, February 07, 2008

Michigan student censored over candy canes

The full Sixth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is being asked to review the case of a student who was censored for expressing a religious viewpoint as part of a school project.

In 2003, administrators at Handley School in Saginaw, Michigan, barred Joel Curry -- then a fifth-grader -- from selling candy cane ornaments to fellow students as part of a classroom project. Curry was told he could not participate until he removed an attached pamphlet explaining the religious symbolism of the candy cane.

Attorneys with the Alliance Defense Fund sued on Curry's behalf -- and in 2006, a federal judge ruled the school violated Curry's First Amendment rights. However, a three-judge panel of the Sixth Circuit disagreed with that ruling, saying religious speech by students is offensive and thus can be censored.

Read more of this story on OneNewsNow.

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