Stevenson v. Davenport Community School District (2000) In

Last updated: 7/26/2022

Stevenson v. Davenport Community School District (2000) In 1992, Brianna Stephenson an honor roll student at West High School was suspended with a recommendation for expulsion for having a small cross tattoo between her thumb and pointer finger. West High School had been having a number of gang related issues many of which dealt with gang colors and tattoos. West High School administrators deemed he cross as a gang symbol and told Brianna she had to have it removed before she could return to school. Brianna paid to have the painful laser surgery to have the tattoo and filed suit against the school. The 8th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the school district's policy was unconstitutional. 1) the School's policy was not specific enough as to what conduct/expression was considered to be prohibited and 2) the vague policy invited unconstitutional, arbitrary and discriminatory enforcement. Based on the case above, which of the following statements most accurately explains why the court sided with Brianna? Brianna's 1st Amendment rights (freedom of speech) were violated and her actions did not cause any disruptions to the day to day functioning of the school. Brianna's 4th Amendment right (search and seizure) was violated since was forced to remove the tattoo. The school has the right to prohibit students from having any type of tattoo within public school. The court cited New Jersey v. T.L.O. to support their decision.