Federal appeals court: Hannibal school was right to suspend student over threats

Posted: 08.01.2011 at 6:08 PM

Hannibal High School suspended a student after that student made threats online to classmates.

HANNIBAL, MO. -- The Quincy Herald-Whig reports that a federal appeals court has sided with the Hannibal School District in suspending a former Hannibal High School Student.

Mary Poletti with Whig.com writes that Dylan Mardis sent instant messages in which, according to court records, he told a friend he wanted to take a gun to school and shoot people he didn't like.

The opinion of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit is that those messages were subject to disciplinary action.

Mardis was suspended for a time during the 2006-2007 school year and was sent to juvenile detention.

The Mardis family looked to clear Dylan's name by appealing the suspension to the Board of Education and then went even further to Missouri courts, which then ended up in federal appeals court.

The right to freedom of speech in the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, or the freedom to speak freely without censorship, remains a gray area in today's technological world.

Make your voice heard ... do you agree with this ruling? Take the poll and post your comments below or on our Facebook page by clicking here.

KHQA will bring you more details on this ruling and federal appeals court case, so check this story later and watch KHQA's News at Five, KHQA's Evening News at 6 p.m. and KHQA's Late News at 10 p.m.

your point of view

Should online threats made by a minor be subject to disciplinary action?