Hey, teacher, leave them pot-selling kids alone

A commenter (yes, somebody read my blog!) noted the disparity between the Supreme Court's ruling in support of free speech in knocking back McCain-Feingold but against "Bong Hits 4 Jesus." As a free-speech advocate, I'd have to agree that the student speech case leaves me uneasy.

However, the Supreme Court has a long history of limiting the rights of students in the interest of, I guess, educational order. One of my favorites is "New Jersey vs. T.L.O." which involved a girl caught with marijuana in her purse after the vice principal found her smoking in the girls room. The NJ Supreme Court found that the school officials search was illegal under the Fourth Amendment but the Burger court, in a 6-3 decision, disagreed.

I wonder whatever became of T.L.O.