Former Whitewater special prosecutor Kenneth Starr is offering his services pro bono to the Juneau, Alaska, school district in a case pitting First Amendment rights against the district's tough anti-drug policies. The 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in March that Principal Deborah Morse had violated the rights of Juneau-Douglas High School student Joseph Frederick when she suspended him for 10 days for holding aloft a banner reading "Bong Hits 4 Jesus" during a January 2002 parade. School officials told Frederick he was suspended for advocating illegal drug use.

[inline:kenstarr.jpg align=left caption="Ken Starr's new target: t-shirts about bongs"]The 9th Circuit was having none of that. In a unanimous ruling, a three-judge panel held that even high school students have a right to express themselves if they don't disrupt school or its educational mission. "A school cannot censor or punish students' speech merely because the students advocate a position contrary to government policy," wrote Judge Andrew Kleinfeld for the panel.

Starr, whose main claim to fame was investigating the relationship between President Bill Clinton and intern Monica Lewinsky, filed a petition Monday urging the Supreme Court to hear the case. It's not a done deal; at least four of the nine justices must vote to hear it if it is to make it before the high court.

School district Superintendent Peggy Cowan told the Associated Press the district is appealing to seek clarity on the rights of administrators to impose discipline on students who break the district's drug message policy. "The district's decision to move forward is not disrespectful to the First Amendment or the rights of students," she said. "This is an important question about how the First Amendment applies to pro-drug messages in an educational setting."

It looks like someone needs to go back to school on the meaning of the First Amendment.