Above photo courtesy Attorney William J. Becker Jr. , this photo was one of the exhibits in the federal lawsuit Becker filed on behalf of parents of three of the four Live Oak High School students in Morgan Hill, California, who were sent home for wearing the shirts on Cinco de Mayo. More photos in slideshow below.
Lawsuit filed over American flag shirt flap at Live Oak High School in Morgan Hill, California
The case made national news when four teenage boys were sent home from their high school in Morgan Hill, California, for wearing shirts with the American flag on Cinco de Mayo, a day Mexican Americans celebrate their Mexican heritage.
The parents of three of the four students at Live Oak High School filed a federal lawsuit on Wednesday against the Morgan Hill Unified School District as well as Principal Nick Boden and Assistant Principal Miguel Rodriguez, according to the Morgan Hill Times. The suit charges that the school’s actions for violated constitution’s First and Fourteenth Ammendments.
According to William J. Becker Jr., the attorney who flied the suit on behalf of the students, "We are not seeking compensatory damages (money to compensate for some kind of loss)."
The attorney added that the lawsuit "seeks equitable relief in the form of orders from the court that the defendants acted unconstitutionally and that the school's policy is unconstitutional."
Becker explained in an e-mail: Becker told this reporter, "Students shouldn't be threatened with discipline for expressing their patriotic views. Merely wearing an American shirt with pride is not punishable because it happens to be a Mexican holiday. We would not have expected this to occur on St. Patrick's Day, Columbus Day or any other day, so why is it different on Cinco de Mayo."
“The U.S. Supreme Court has held for decades that students do not shed their First Amendment rights at the schoolhouse gates,” Becker stated in a press release. “Students who wish to show their pride for another nation’s heritage should not have their speech protected more than those who celebrate America’s.”
School district officials declined comment on the lawsuit.
The high school’s principal and assistant principal told the boys they could wear the shirts on any other day but they said they were concerned that wearing the shirts on Cinco de Mayo could spark violence. (See slideshow photos below of the shirts that the boys were wearing.)
After news of the incident resulted in national outrage, School District Superintendent Wesley Smith apologized and said the principal and assistant principal were wrong.
Becker, the attorney, specializes in First Ammendment cases. . Becker filed the case as an affiliated attorney with the Thomas More Law Center and The Rutherford Institute. Becker also represents a Merced sixth grade girl who was ordered by school authorities to remove an anti-abortion t-shirt.
Click here for the PDF file of the court filing, courtesy of KSBW-TV.
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Comments
This is America ! Plain and Simple be proud to be one. If they want to celebrate whatever ! fine but it should not change our ways of how and when we show our flag.
I don't care if anyone wants to celebrate Corona Day, but that should have nothing to do with restricting the rights of nothers to celebrate their patriotism. And if there was a concern wearing patriotic shirts might "spark violence" it sounds like they have a discipline problem in the school they need to deal with.
corona day wow how racist is that. Its cinco de mayo which is very important to us mexicans. the school is in the right beacause they wanted to stop violence. Yet their getting sued for protecting them they could have let it continue and let someone murder them but they would still be in trouble they made the right choice .
Americans are Proud... This is America.... If Mexicans feel violence or even Murder over Us showing OUR Red, White and Blue Flag in Amrica. If you are no American go home..
You need to get your priorities straight! Protecting our 1st amendment is our countries first priority. No one can determine the possibility of riots or violence because the students were stripped of their constitutional rights before it could even happen. I am disgusted to think there are people like you out there who think that a vice principal has the right to decide what is and isn't constitutional. Also if the faculty had questions about the possibility of riots, why were students allowed to celebrate cinco de mayo?
You serious? The school was right? GO back to Mexico. And by the way, my parents are from Cuba, they came here to be Americans. I AM AMERICAN!!!!! There was no ESL bullshit when they came here in 1965. It was sink or swim. Fuck my "Cuban heritage" And yes I am fluent in spanish. So what?! WE SPEAK ENGLISH HERE!!!
Maybe they should change the name to Cinco de Mayo or Your Own Nationality day, then everyone would be happy
It is called cinco de mayo and translated to english is fifth of may Try searching it on wikipedia if anyone would like to read about how important that day is to us.
More important than the 1st amendment? Or how about the 4th or July? If you have answered yes to either of these questions then you are in the wrong country.
The racism of Hispanics is so apparent here. How dare the Hispanic assistant restrict the showing of our flag. This is not Mexico. He should be fired. A foreign national holiday should not be celebrated in public schools supported by American Tax payors money.
Hilarious that mexican americans take the side of mexico time after time. In a nation of immigrants, the mexican americans are the only group that just cant let go of where they came from, and join this melting pot of a nation. You are actually too funny cause Cinco De Mayo is not that important of a holiday in mexico, its not even the real independence day. The History Channel puts it this way: "Although not a major strategic victory in the overall war against the French, Zaragoza's success at Puebla represented a great moral victory for the Mexican government."
So why is this so important? Cause they are telling us, that no matter how powerful the US is, they will get the southwest back, and David will defeat goliath again. And for this, we americans are supposed to be sensitive, KMA.
This was a deliberate act to incite a... well a ruckus I guess, as no rioting occurred. It was done in very very poor taste. It was nothing less than rude, demeaning and disrespectful and frankly childish. I support the schools decision. We are all grown ups here, we know exactly what the boy's intentions were, and any attempt to say otherwise is foolish.
Just because you are in America, doen't mean that Americans should have to celebrate your holidays...if I moved to Mexico, would Mexicans be sensitive to me on the 4th of July?...doubt it! This is extremely unconstitutional!
Cinco de Mayo is not even Mexican Independence Day. It's the celebration of victory at the Battle of Puebla which involved the Mexico and France. The US wasn't even involved. Perhaps there were issues stemming deeper than just the shirts (e.g. disciplinary records, history of race-related disputes, etc.), but a US flag should not incite any anger from any Mexicans on Cinco de Mayo unless they're just looking for a fight.
Let the celebrate Cinco De Mayo. Not a problem. The problem I have is Mexician-Americans flying the flag of Mexico on their house or other properties. I consider that to be a HOSTILE action of a FOREIGN NATION. You can not compare it to other ethnic holidays for that reason.
On St Patricks day we wear green NOT the Irish Flag.
At Mardi Gras we don't sport the French Flag.
Do we fly a Spanish/Italian Flag on Columbus Day?
My point is, Be proud of you racial heritage, by more then that BE PROUD TO BE AN UNITED STATES CITIZEN. If not, don't let the door hit you on the way out.
CINCO DE MAYO THE DAY WE CELEBRATE BECAUSE WE REFUSED TO BACK DOWN TO BILL COLLECTORS!!!
I find is interesting that we tend to cater to one group of people in the United States. Mexicans.. When we have so many other nationalities here. A year or so ago there was a school in the Montebello school in Calif. that took down the American Flag and put up the Mexican Flag on the pole at there school. I think we know where we are going with this. It was allowed and encouraged. I think the school officials should have been repremanded for this. Fired even!! But they were not. We all need to stand up for America and stop letting these things go on un-noticed.
After extensively studying the case, I have come to the conclusion that the school knew that there could be some problems because for years there has been racial animosity, they purposely sided with the vice principals view point and allowed freedom of speech to be be temporarily voided. The school asked a day before the paid celebration of California taxpayers to not wear American flag material which prompted students to feel that their rights and freedom to be jeopardized, rightfully so. The vice principal combed the campus for the students, asked them to take off their flag material, and then had them follow him into his office where he gave them an hour speech on Mexican history, threatening to suspend them indefinitely for violating school policy.
The school was 100% in the wrong and I hope that these students get every penny they deserve. Rather than trying to bring students together, this man, the vice principal, tore them apart.
As a vice principal and educator, you would think he would try to make the school better. He rather get his racial point of view out there. He currently is heading a Mexican student only group of students, making it a rather hostile environment for the students of other races to go to the school. This man does nothing but spread hate and should be fired for doing so.
Wow! What an incredible array of "anger shades"... Wish people -in this day and age- knew how to apply the meanings of humbleness, share, human being, civilization, respect & KARMA!
AMERICA runs from Canada and all the way to Patagonia. With that said, YES!, citizens of the United States will and should always wear whatever pleases them. If the School hadn't made such a big deal out of the pieces of clothing we wouldn't be typing these lines... However, with the material presented and the way this whole event has developed, I'd have to agree that it sounds like there was a hidden agenda on the wearing of those shirts.
To be continued, I suppose.
If you don't want to be one of us why do you come here?
Stay home and be who you are. Don't come here to make the USA like what you had. If you make us like what you had where will you move to next? Stay Home and change your homeland more like the USA if that is the life you want, don't come and change us into what you ran from!
@ Richard C....if you are Mexican and so proud of Mexico.....GO BACK TO MEXICO!
this is america our colors stand for freedom-now we dont have the freedom to wera them whenever we want whats wrong with that picture?
Someone should collect this Principals greencard and deliver him to the border. If I was ever lectured about Mexican culture, I think I'd sit there giving the middle finger the whole time. They assert their authority way beyond what should be allowed. Its not new,.. even cops go far beyond asserting their authority. Its because people only have wolves to report the wolves watching over the hen house. We simply avoid.. I am getting damn sick and tired of sensative america. Grab some balls people and stickup for your rights or they will disappear. Cinco Duh Mayo isnt even celebrated in their own country - its an AMERICAN holiday for the most part Except for maybe a small dump town in the pit of nowhere population 500 in Mexico. A small town celebrates it. thats about it. ADAPT THE ARIZONA LAW and boot these bastards out! They probably didnt come over here legally anyway.
Its time to bring out public executions for treason.
I suggest a nation-wide Mexican flag burning day on the next Cinco Duh Mayo. Bastards. No other nationality has cared about when/what/where to wear its flag in this country, but this one does. SO fix it - boot them out and give them no rights in this country. I think key point is is assimilation. How many things are now in spanish? I cant make a phone call to a company without hearing that crap now! (which by the way is a pet pieve of mine, THEY should push a button to hear espanol, not me to hear english - idiots!) We should not have voter ballots, signs, phone machines, internet,yellow page translations because of them... they should assimilate or be removed from this country. PERIOD! Not start requiring OUR jobs to be multi-lingual because THEY fail to assimilate! Kick them out.. and you can start with Barrack Hussein Obama appointed racist Judge Sotomayor. Do you all see how we are slowly being kicked out of our own country right after right for ONLY peasants?!
Obviously this has nothing to do with whether one can wear clothing which resembles an American flag. The statement "The high school’s principal and assistant principal told the boys they could wear the shirts on any other day but they said they were concerned that wearing the shirts on Cinco de Mayo could spark violence" indicates the action arose from the administrator's fears about non-American elements.
Obviously the local police force is inadequate to protect the students (and perhaps the school) and to protect the school and perhaps themselves, the administration decided it was easiest to just remove the students.
The administrators should be fired immediately.
If the police force was inadequate to protect the students and the school, they should likewise be replaced, perhaps by those with military experience who know how to protect Americans from terrorists who hate Americans.
It's as simple as that. This is America. All else:KMA.
I don't care what day of the week it is or what "holiday" it is when it comes to the American flag. NO ONE has the right or the authority to tell me I cannot display my country's flag in my country. If displaying the American flag offends someone, then I suggest that person leave this country.
Never mind the fact that the flag is never to be worn, period, by anyone, ever, anyhow. Look up the Flag Code, people! Here's an excerpt:
# (d) The flag should never be used as wearing apparel, bedding, or drapery...
I AGREE WITH ALL THESE WONDERFUL REMARKS,FOR LACK OF A BETTER WORD. I OFTEN WONDER ARE THE AMERICANS THE ONLY ONES THAT HAVE TO PUT UP WITH EVERYBODY ELSE'S "PROUD" HERITAGE CRAP. WELL MY VOTE IS NOTHING SHOULD BE CELEBRATED IN AMERICA THAT'S NOT OUR HERITAGE!!!!!!!AND WHY ARE YOU HERE IF YOU LOVE YOUR COUNTRY SO MUCH, GO BACK AND KISS THE GROUND YOU WALK ON AND WHILE LEAVING KISS MY GRITS!!!!!!..............J.
Either you are American or you are Mexican. Make up your mind. I have never thought of myself as a Swedish American. Never once. Send the un-Americans home to their country.
During the Elian Gonzalez mess 10 years ago in Miami the Miami cubans were burning American flags and displaying their cuban flag. They were burning pictures of Clinton and Reno. When in America - support America!
As a soldier (19 years) I only have one thing to say about this and all other stories that are similar, I have bleed for this country along with hundreds of thousands of other for our rights, If you dont like our flag 24-7 take ur ass back to what ever pathetic crap whole you claim as home and free up some of our tax dollars and jobs...
I don't understand why people don't have respect for others. All people is talking "Crap" about Mexico. MORE RESPECT.
What are you talking about? Respect for who or what? I hope you mean respect for our country. Yeah that's what I thought. This isn't about Mexico,Ok so get a clue or learn to read.
This is crazy! We are still the United States of America, if the Mexicans are offended by this they should get out of the country!
Kenia said:All people is talking "Crap" about Mexico. MORE RESPECT.-- What do you mean Kenia? More respect for who, what? If you mean those of Mexican or any other heritage should have more respect for their chosen country, the U.S.A. even if they are not citizens ... I agree.
If you mean U.S. citizens should have more respect for those who have more loyalty to the place from which they came than they do for the place which gave them succor and the very chance at having a better life ... ? Hmmm ... What's to respect?
Amen Chuck! - - -
Chuck said: Either you are American or you are Mexican. Make up your mind. I have never thought of myself as a Swedish American. Never once. Send the un-Americans home to their country.
ZachWa, As it is, the first and most pressing conversation is the one about the disrespect the people and students of that school showed the totality of the U.S. Then we can talk about the disrespect actual U.S. citizens in their zeal (and probably without knowing it) have shown the flag. Which is a wholly different and much less pressing issue than the deliberate disrespect and contempt of the U.S. and her flag these students, school officials, etc have shown.
ZachWa said: Never mind the fact that the flag is never to be worn, period, by anyone, ever, anyhow. Look up the Flag Code, people!
ZachWa, ... And if that had been the basis for the protest, and IF everyone else at the school followed every other patriotic law and tradition due and granted to and of and by the U.S. ... well then we could have a conversation.
ZachWa said: Never mind the fact that the flag is never to be worn, period, by anyone, ever, anyhow. Look up the Flag Code, people!
I totally agree with you. Whether the reason was shorthandedness, non support of the flag themselves, or being poorly trained for the job, the police force acted disgracefully.
BikerMagi said: Obviously the local police force is inadequate to protect the students (and perhaps the school) and to protect the school and perhaps themselves, the administration decided it was easiest to just remove the students.
It's o.k. to spit on the flag, stomp it, burn it or anything illegals want to do to it, but the "flag code" says for citizens not to wear it. Sorry, that's not a law and clothing companies are the ones who make the flag clothing, "legally."
I believe the flag code is referring to wearing an actual flag, not a depiction of it on a piece of clothing.
Today in Mexico. Three students got in trouble for wearing Mexico flag T-shirts because it might be offencive to some American national students ;-)
Thank you and GOD Bless You to you students (and families) who stood up for America through such a discreet and appropriate act. I hope other Americans will proudly wear an American flag pin over their hearts every day!
And yet, it seemed perfectly normal to have a latino band playing Mexican culture music at the Pub (City Center, Las Vegas NV) during Independence Day. Couldn't they find an American band to play American music... at least for our Independence Day.
What is a "true" American? Most of us come from imigrants from other countries. (Our grandparents from hundrends of years ago.) And if not, we all actually oringinated from another continent if you study history and the origins of man. Come on people. RESPECT is RIGHT. No one has to MAKE a choice to be polish or german or french if you are mixed like I am. I am an "American" and PROUD that all my grandfathers and father, fought in WARS so that WE could POST freely and comment here! PLUS, NO ONE IS WEARING THE FLAG! IT is a representation of the flag-for heaven sake. Be pround-wear the colors- military wear the flag represented on their clothing-it is NOT disrespectful-wearing a shirt with the flag printed on it is the same thing people-
Good for these American Guys! Mexican American's- They are AMERICAN's.... let them wear the FLAG colored clothing, american, pins, sneakers and whatever proudly! I am PROUD of them. No one should be offended. Get real people. Should the Jewish people be Chinese people be offened that day? Because, they don't get a chinese holiday to celebrate at school???!! Get a life people!
You want to know what a "True American" is? It's someone who likely came from another country, who is now more proud to identify themselves with America than with their place of origin. I am an Italian American. That means that I am of Italian decent, but I am American first. I served in the American military, as did my father and brother. We will fight to defend and protect America and America's interests. I identify myself as an American, so I fly the American flag, not the Italian flag. If I were in Italy and I was asked my nationality, I would proudly respond "AMERICAN!". That's a "True American" in my opinion.
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