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Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Cheerleader taking free-speech suit to high court

Cheerleader taking free-speech suit to high court

Cheerleader taking free-speech suit to high court

(12-22) 12:40 PST WASHINGTON -- A Texas high school cheerleader who was kicked off the squad for refusing to chant the name of an athlete she said had raped her will ask the U.S. Supreme Court to reinstate her free-speech suit against the school district, her lawyer says.

The cheerleader and her parents are also challenging federal court rulings that found the suit to be frivolous and ordered them to reimburse the district more than $45,000 in legal costs.

The case has drawn national attention since a federal appeals court in New Orleans ruled in September that the cheerleader was speaking for the school, not herself, and had no right to remain silent when called on to shout the athlete's name. Legal commentators



Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/12/22/BA2U1GTV1N.DTL#ixzz18sjxlolS