CJE Exam UPDATED ACTUAL Exam
Questions and CORRECT Answers
West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette (1942) - CORRECT ANSWER - BOE
required teachers and students to salute flag. Refusal to salute was considered insubordination,
punishable by expulsion and charges of delinquency. In 6-to-3 decision, Court overruled its
decision in Minersville School District v. Gobitis and held that compelling public schoolchildren
to salute the flag was unconstitutional. The Court found that such a salute was a form of
utterance and was a means of communicating ideas.
New York Times v. Sullivan (1964) - CORRECT ANSWER - This U.S. Supreme Court
case extended the First Amendment's guarantee of free speech to libel cases brought by public
officials. The Supreme Court sought to encourage public debate by changing the rules involving
libel that had previously been the province of state law and state courts, and that a public official
cannot receive damages unless statements were made in "actual malice."
LB. Sullivan, the Montgomery city commissioner responsible for supervising the city police
department, filed a libel suit against four African American clergymen and the New York Times
in Alabama state court, alleging an ad seeking contributions to the civil rights movement libeled
him. The judge instructed the jury that under Alabama law, if the statements were found libelous,
falsity and malice were presumed, and damages could be awarded without direct proof of
financial loss. The jury concluded that the statements did concern Sullivan and awarded him
$500,000 for injuries to his reputation and profession. The U.S. Supreme Court reversed, holding
that the Rule of Law applied by Alabama violated the First Amendment.
Brandenburg v. Ohio (1968) - CORRECT ANSWER - Brandenburg, a Ku Klux Klan
leader, made a speech at a Klan rally and was later convicted under an Ohio criminal syndicalism
law. The law made illegal advocating "crime, sabotage, violence, or unlawful methods of
terrorism as a means of accomplishing industrial or political reform," as well as assembling
"with any society, group, or assemblage of persons formed to teach or advocate the doctrines of
criminal syndicalism." The Court's opinion held that the Ohio law violated Brandenburg's right
to free speech. The Court used a two-pronged test to evaluate speech acts: (1) speech can be
prohibited if it is "directed at inciting or producing imminent lawless action" and (2) it is "likely
to incite or produce such action." The criminal syndicalism act made illegal the advocacy and
teaching of doctrines while ignoring whether that advocacy and teaching would actually incite
imminent lawless action. Failure to make this distinction rendered the law overly broad and in
violation of the Constitution.
,Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District - 1969 - CORRECT
ANSWER - The Supreme Court decision declared students' First Amendment rights did
not stop at the school door. They had the right to express their political views, in this particular
case with black arm bands as a protest of the Vietnam War, as long as the expression did not
disrupt class work or disrupt the rights of others.
Bethel School District v. Fraser- (1986) - CORRECT ANSWER - Matthew Fraser made a
nominating speech at an assembly, lewd and sexual in nature, and he was disciplined. The Court
ruled the school was within its right to prohibit vulgar language at school. The court declared
that vulgar speech is not politically protected speech.
Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeiern 1988 - CORRECT ANSWER - this case established standard
for censorship of school newspapers. The Court ruled school officials could exercise prior
restraint if/when a student newspaper was produced as a "regular classroom activity" rather than
a "forum for public expression." That standard means that most high school papers now are
assumed not to have First Amendment protections, while most college newspapers are. The case
began when the principal pulled two articles from the school newspaper, one on divorce and one
on teen pregnancy.
Texas v. Johnson (1989) - CORRECT ANSWER - In 1984, in front of the Dallas City
Hall, Gregory Lee Johnson burned an American flag to protest Reagan administration policies.
Johnson was tried and convicted under a Texas law outlawing flag desecration. After the Texas
Court of Criminal Appeals reversed the conviction, the case went to the Supreme Court. In a 5-
to-4 decision, the Court held that Johnson's burning of a flag was protected expression under the
First Amendment. The Court found that Johnson's actions fell into the category of expressive
conduct and had a distinctively political nature.
Yeo. v. Town of Lexington (1998) - CORRECT ANSWER - The U.S. Court of Appeals
for the First Circuit unanimously ruled that student journalists have the right to refuse ads
submitted to their publications. This case demonstrates the importance of a school publication
with public forum status. The case arose when student yearbook/newspaper editors at Lexington
High School in Massachusetts refused to print an ad submitted by Douglas Yeo in 1992
encouraging sexual abstinence by students. The student publications had an unwritten policy of
not accepting political or advocacy ads, but did offer Yeo to present his message in a letter to the
editor. Yeo turned that down. Students and school officials maintained the school's policy and
practice had been to allow students to control the content of their publications.
, Dean v. Utica (2004) - CORRECT ANSWER - This case reflects limits to the Hazelwood
decision. Students were about to publish a story in their student newspaper, the Arrow, about a
lawsuit filed against their school district concerning the ill effects of diesel fumes from the bus
garage. As the paper was to go to press, school officials told the adviser it could not be
published. Editor Katy Dean contested the censorship. The court concluded the Arrow was a
public forum, and even if the paper was a non-public forum to which the Hazelwood standard
applied, the court ruled that the censorship of the Arrow was unreasonable.
Morse v. Frederick - (2006) - CORRECT ANSWER - At a school-supervised event,
Joseph Frederick held up a banner with the message "Bong Hits 4 Jesus." Principal Deborah
Morse took away the banner and suspended Frederick for 10 days. The court ruled in 2006
school officials can prohibit students from displaying messages that promote illegal drug use.
Censorship - CORRECT ANSWER - Administration or others in authority outside the
publications staff banning publication of certain stories or items.
Prior review - CORRECT ANSWER - Administration or others in authority outside the
publications staff reading to review all stories and items in the publication prior to print.
Forum publication - CORRECT ANSWER - A school publication that has been designated
as a public forum for student expression - also, student editors must clearly have been allowed to
make final decisions about the content of the publication
Public Forum - CORRECT ANSWER - Hazelwood's weaker protections do not apply to
all public high school student media. There are two types of school-sponsored student media: so-
called "public forum" student media (which includes "limited public forums," such as the
Arrow), where student editors have, by policy or practice, been allowed to make their own
editorial decisions, and non-public, where school officials have routinely exercised more
authority over content. Public forum student media, the judge in Dean affirmed, are protected by
the much more protective Tinker standard, which prohibits censorship of otherwise lawful
speech except where it would seriously disrupt normal school activities where student editors
have not been allowed to make their own decisions about content and, therefore, cannot argue
that they are a public forum, the Hazelwood standard applies.
Questions and CORRECT Answers
West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette (1942) - CORRECT ANSWER - BOE
required teachers and students to salute flag. Refusal to salute was considered insubordination,
punishable by expulsion and charges of delinquency. In 6-to-3 decision, Court overruled its
decision in Minersville School District v. Gobitis and held that compelling public schoolchildren
to salute the flag was unconstitutional. The Court found that such a salute was a form of
utterance and was a means of communicating ideas.
New York Times v. Sullivan (1964) - CORRECT ANSWER - This U.S. Supreme Court
case extended the First Amendment's guarantee of free speech to libel cases brought by public
officials. The Supreme Court sought to encourage public debate by changing the rules involving
libel that had previously been the province of state law and state courts, and that a public official
cannot receive damages unless statements were made in "actual malice."
LB. Sullivan, the Montgomery city commissioner responsible for supervising the city police
department, filed a libel suit against four African American clergymen and the New York Times
in Alabama state court, alleging an ad seeking contributions to the civil rights movement libeled
him. The judge instructed the jury that under Alabama law, if the statements were found libelous,
falsity and malice were presumed, and damages could be awarded without direct proof of
financial loss. The jury concluded that the statements did concern Sullivan and awarded him
$500,000 for injuries to his reputation and profession. The U.S. Supreme Court reversed, holding
that the Rule of Law applied by Alabama violated the First Amendment.
Brandenburg v. Ohio (1968) - CORRECT ANSWER - Brandenburg, a Ku Klux Klan
leader, made a speech at a Klan rally and was later convicted under an Ohio criminal syndicalism
law. The law made illegal advocating "crime, sabotage, violence, or unlawful methods of
terrorism as a means of accomplishing industrial or political reform," as well as assembling
"with any society, group, or assemblage of persons formed to teach or advocate the doctrines of
criminal syndicalism." The Court's opinion held that the Ohio law violated Brandenburg's right
to free speech. The Court used a two-pronged test to evaluate speech acts: (1) speech can be
prohibited if it is "directed at inciting or producing imminent lawless action" and (2) it is "likely
to incite or produce such action." The criminal syndicalism act made illegal the advocacy and
teaching of doctrines while ignoring whether that advocacy and teaching would actually incite
imminent lawless action. Failure to make this distinction rendered the law overly broad and in
violation of the Constitution.
,Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District - 1969 - CORRECT
ANSWER - The Supreme Court decision declared students' First Amendment rights did
not stop at the school door. They had the right to express their political views, in this particular
case with black arm bands as a protest of the Vietnam War, as long as the expression did not
disrupt class work or disrupt the rights of others.
Bethel School District v. Fraser- (1986) - CORRECT ANSWER - Matthew Fraser made a
nominating speech at an assembly, lewd and sexual in nature, and he was disciplined. The Court
ruled the school was within its right to prohibit vulgar language at school. The court declared
that vulgar speech is not politically protected speech.
Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeiern 1988 - CORRECT ANSWER - this case established standard
for censorship of school newspapers. The Court ruled school officials could exercise prior
restraint if/when a student newspaper was produced as a "regular classroom activity" rather than
a "forum for public expression." That standard means that most high school papers now are
assumed not to have First Amendment protections, while most college newspapers are. The case
began when the principal pulled two articles from the school newspaper, one on divorce and one
on teen pregnancy.
Texas v. Johnson (1989) - CORRECT ANSWER - In 1984, in front of the Dallas City
Hall, Gregory Lee Johnson burned an American flag to protest Reagan administration policies.
Johnson was tried and convicted under a Texas law outlawing flag desecration. After the Texas
Court of Criminal Appeals reversed the conviction, the case went to the Supreme Court. In a 5-
to-4 decision, the Court held that Johnson's burning of a flag was protected expression under the
First Amendment. The Court found that Johnson's actions fell into the category of expressive
conduct and had a distinctively political nature.
Yeo. v. Town of Lexington (1998) - CORRECT ANSWER - The U.S. Court of Appeals
for the First Circuit unanimously ruled that student journalists have the right to refuse ads
submitted to their publications. This case demonstrates the importance of a school publication
with public forum status. The case arose when student yearbook/newspaper editors at Lexington
High School in Massachusetts refused to print an ad submitted by Douglas Yeo in 1992
encouraging sexual abstinence by students. The student publications had an unwritten policy of
not accepting political or advocacy ads, but did offer Yeo to present his message in a letter to the
editor. Yeo turned that down. Students and school officials maintained the school's policy and
practice had been to allow students to control the content of their publications.
, Dean v. Utica (2004) - CORRECT ANSWER - This case reflects limits to the Hazelwood
decision. Students were about to publish a story in their student newspaper, the Arrow, about a
lawsuit filed against their school district concerning the ill effects of diesel fumes from the bus
garage. As the paper was to go to press, school officials told the adviser it could not be
published. Editor Katy Dean contested the censorship. The court concluded the Arrow was a
public forum, and even if the paper was a non-public forum to which the Hazelwood standard
applied, the court ruled that the censorship of the Arrow was unreasonable.
Morse v. Frederick - (2006) - CORRECT ANSWER - At a school-supervised event,
Joseph Frederick held up a banner with the message "Bong Hits 4 Jesus." Principal Deborah
Morse took away the banner and suspended Frederick for 10 days. The court ruled in 2006
school officials can prohibit students from displaying messages that promote illegal drug use.
Censorship - CORRECT ANSWER - Administration or others in authority outside the
publications staff banning publication of certain stories or items.
Prior review - CORRECT ANSWER - Administration or others in authority outside the
publications staff reading to review all stories and items in the publication prior to print.
Forum publication - CORRECT ANSWER - A school publication that has been designated
as a public forum for student expression - also, student editors must clearly have been allowed to
make final decisions about the content of the publication
Public Forum - CORRECT ANSWER - Hazelwood's weaker protections do not apply to
all public high school student media. There are two types of school-sponsored student media: so-
called "public forum" student media (which includes "limited public forums," such as the
Arrow), where student editors have, by policy or practice, been allowed to make their own
editorial decisions, and non-public, where school officials have routinely exercised more
authority over content. Public forum student media, the judge in Dean affirmed, are protected by
the much more protective Tinker standard, which prohibits censorship of otherwise lawful
speech except where it would seriously disrupt normal school activities where student editors
have not been allowed to make their own decisions about content and, therefore, cannot argue
that they are a public forum, the Hazelwood standard applies.
