1. Sally Scoop, ace reporter, filed a FOIA request with the Department of the Navy for "all documents concerning allegations of cheating at the U.S. Naval Academy." The Department refused to provide any documents saying that all of the documents are exempt under the National Security exemption of the FOIA. The Navy claims that release of the material reasonably could be expected to cause damage to the national security. It denied that a cheating problem exists at the Academy, but said that release of any materials related to the topic would embarrass the Navy and thereby damage the National Security.
Scoop wants to challenge the denial of her request. Does her challenge have a strong likelihood of success? YES or NO? EXPLAIN YOUR ANSWER.
2. Larry Laugh was arrested and convicted of harassment. At trial he argued that the conviction violated Article 1, Section 8 of the Oregon Constitution. The Oregon Supreme Court upheld the conviction finding that Oregon's harassment statute is not in conflict with the state constitution's free speech clause. Laugh wants to file an appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court. Can Laugh successfully appeal the state court's decision to the U.S. Supreme Court? YES OR NO? EXPLAIN YOUR ANSWER.
3. Randy Responsible is the editor of The Square Peg, the official student newspaper at South Anywhere High School, a small high school in eastern Oregon. After several months of hard work, Randy and his staff are ready to publish an article titled "Drugs and Sex at South." The article reported on students' drug use and sexual practices. It contained graphic and explicit quotes from seven identifiable students, and was critical of school teachers, school administrators and local law enforcement officers.
Gary Guide is the faculty advisor to The Square Peg . He thinks that "Drugs and Sex at South" is a very good piece of student journalism. He hopes to enter it in national student newspaper competitions after it appears in the paper.
Under South Anywhere's Student Publication Policy, the newspaper is defined as being a "lab" newspaper, that is, it is designed to be a learning experience for the students. The policy clearly states that the principal and the School Board may review the paper before publication and "edit" the paper so that the contents of the paper meet "professional standards of journalism" and are in agreement with the educational mission of the school district.
When the principal reviewed the edition of the paper containing "Drugs and Sex at South" he immediately ordered the story removed from the paper because it invaded the privacy of students and left the impression that the school condoned drug use and sex on campus.
Responsible and his staff believe the principal's actions violated their First Amendment free press rights. Are they correct? YES OR NO? EXPLAIN YOUR ANSWER.