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Appellant Marvin L. Pickering, a teacher in Township High School District 205, Will County, Illinois, was dismissed from his position by the appellee Board of Education for sending a letter to a local newspaper in connection with a recently proposed tax increase that was critical of the way in which the Board and the district superintendent of ...
Pickering involved a Township High School teacher who was dismissed after writing a letter to a local newspaper which criticised how the Township Board of Education and the district superintendent had handled past proposals to raise new revenue for the schools.
26 lut 2019 · Pickering v. Board of Education Brief. Statement of the Facts: A teacher in Township High School District 205 wrote a letter to a local newspaper, complaining about the way in which the Board of Education handled past proposals to raise revenue.
Justice Thurgood Marshall wrote the 8-1 majority opinion holding that Pickering’s dismissal violated his First Amendment right to free speech. The Supreme Court noted that similar speech is not protected if it contains false statements knowingly or recklessly made.
Pickering sued in the Circuit Court of Will County alleging his letter was speech protected under the First Amendment. The court ruled in favor of the school board and the Supreme Court of Illinois affirmed.
The Board found all the statements false as charged, and concluded that publication of the letter was "detrimental to the efficient operation and administration of the schools of the district" and that "the interests of the school require[d] [appellant's dismissal]" under the applicable statute.
1 sty 2009 · Pickering contested his termination in state court, alleging a violation of his First Amendment right of free speech. School board officials countered that the letter was detrimental to the interests of the school.
