August 15, 2024 – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 
On Thursday, August 15, The Hamilton Lincoln Law Institute (HLLI) petitioned a federal appeals court to recognize a high school student’s off-campus social media post as protected speech under the First Amendment, challenging the school district’s disciplinary actions.
HLLI is assisting Case Leroy, a former student of Livingston Manor School District in New York, in contesting a district court’s approval of his suspension from school and all school-related activities. The punishment was imposed for a photo Leroy and his friends took and briefly posted on social media, off-campus, and outside of school hours.
The incident in question took place in the Spring of 2021, during Leroy’s senior year. Leroy and his friends were hanging out after football practice. In the photo, Leroy lay on the ground while one friend knelt on his back, and a third friend took the picture. Leroy posted the photo to Snapchat with the caption “Cops got another.” Leroy quickly deleted the post after receiving backlash from his peers as the image appeared to reference George Floyd and Derek Chauvin.
Even though the photo was taken off school grounds, after school hours, and did not reference the school, the Livingston Manor School District punished Leroy by suspending him indefinitely from school and all extracurricular activities, including his graduation ceremony.
HLLI argues that the Livingston Manor School District violated Leroy’s First Amendment rights. American students do not forfeit their free speech rights at the school’s doors. Public schools have limited authority to regulate students’ speech during school hours or while under the direct supervision of school personnel, but that authority does not extend to off-campus speech outside of school hours. The Supreme Court clarified this in Mahanoy Area Sch. Dist. v. B.L., 594 U.S. 180 (2021).
HLLI Senior Attorney and lead counsel for the case, Adam Schulman, stated, “The school, school district, and administrator’s actions are unconstitutional. Caught up in the national fervor surrounding George Floyd, they caved to an online mob and levied an extraordinary punishment for an ambiguous Snapchat post that was none of their business. The state court recognized the school district’s overreach, but the district court missed the mark. We look forward to upholding Leroy’s First Amendment rights in the Second Circuit and vindicating the rights of Case Leroy.”
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Founded in 2019, Hamilton Lincoln Law Institute is a nonprofit public interest law firm that challenges improper restrictions on speech, administrative and regulatory actions, and abuses of the class action and civil justice system that exceed constitutional limits, promote rent-seeking, or otherwise improperly created deadweight loss.
As a nonprofit, tax-exempt organization as defined by section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, HLLI relies on support from individuals and foundations that share a commitment to individual liberty, free enterprise, and limited government.
For more information about this case, please see our brief, case page, or contact the attorney below:
Adam Schulman, Senior Attorney, (610) 457-0856, adam.schulman@hlli.org.