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In a decision filed Aug. 1, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit upheld a summary judgment order on a First Amendment issue involving Hannibal School District No. 60 and a former student.
The case stems from the suspension of a then-sophomore Dylan Mardis, who was accused of sending what were perceived to be threatening Instant Messaging (IM) texts regarding Hannibal High School students to a friend in the fall of 2006.
The Hannibal Public School District No. 60 is represented by Joe Wintage of St. Louis. The plaintiffs are unnamed in the Appeals Court record, but earlier court filings identify the plaintiff as Dylan J. Mardis, now an adult, and his parents, David and Janet Mardis of Hannibal. They are represented by Branson L. Wood III of Hannibal.
According to court records, the minor sent a series of IMs from his home computer to several of his friends, naming specific students who he would “have to get rid of.”
A friend contacted the school principal, who in turn alerted school district personnel and the police. The minor was subsequently placed in juvenile detention and was suspended from school for 10 days. On Nov. 3, 2006, Superintendent Jill Janes extended the suspension for the rest of the school year.
According to the federal appeals documents, “(Hannibal High School principal, Darin) Powell had received numerous phone calls from concerned parents asking what the school was doing to address” the threats “and whether their children were on a rumored hit list.” The school district maintains that the suspension was justifiable, because while the IM posts were made off campus, they had a disruptive impact on the school. David and Janet Mardis appealed the suspension to the school board, but the board unanimously affirmed the suspension for the remainder of the 2006-07 school year.
The Mardis family originally asked for an administrative review of the suspension, which was filed in the Cole Circuit Court on March 14, 2007. Later, Mardis and his parents amended the petition to add the First Amendment issue.
The case was transferred to the Circuit Court of Marion County on May 5, 2008. On Nov. 26, 2008, the case was transferred to the jurisdiction of the Monroe County Circuit Court. In 2009, the case was moved to federal court when both sides asked for a summary judgment. The federal appeals court granted summary judgment to the school district on Dylan’s constitutional claims and remanded his state claim for administrative review.
Wintage, speaking for the school district, said, “The Court of Appeals has said that the lower court was correct when it issued its order granting the district summary judgment on that First Amendment claim.” The only appeal from this point would be to the U.S. Supreme Court, and Wintage said that is an unlikely scenario.
“It is important for districts to be able to act on threats,” Wintage said. “I’d rather have a district be proactive” in regard to responding to threats, than to wait until after a tragedy has occurred to act.
Now that the First Amendment issue has been resolved, Wintage said he expects the administrative review issue will be settled in a short amount of time.
The question that remains is whether Dylan’s discipline can be removed from his permanent school record.
“It went on the back burner once the First Amendment issue” was added, Wintage said.
Dylan Mardis did return to the high school the following year, and graduated ahead of the rest of his class, according to court documents.
Jill Janes said that any costs associated with this five-year case have been paid through the district’s insurance company.
A call to Mardis’ attorney was not immediately returned on Monday.
In a decision filed Aug. 1, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit upheld a summary judgment order on a First Amendment issue involving Hannibal School District No. 60 and a former student.
The case stems from the suspension of a then-sophomore Dylan Mardis, who was accused of sending what were perceived to be threatening Instant Messaging (IM) texts regarding Hannibal High School students to a friend in the fall of 2006.
The Hannibal Public School District No. 60 is represented by Joe Wintage of St. Louis. The plaintiffs are unnamed in the Appeals Court record, but earlier court filings identify the plaintiff as Dylan J. Mardis, now an adult, and his parents, David and Janet Mardis of Hannibal. They are represented by Branson L. Wood III of Hannibal.
According to court records, the minor sent a series of IMs from his home computer to several of his friends, naming specific students who he would “have to get rid of.”
A friend contacted the school principal, who in turn alerted school district personnel and the police. The minor was subsequently placed in juvenile detention and was suspended from school for 10 days. On Nov. 3, 2006, Superintendent Jill Janes extended the suspension for the rest of the school year.
According to the federal appeals documents, “(Hannibal High School principal, Darin) Powell had received numerous phone calls from concerned parents asking what the school was doing to address” the threats “and whether their children were on a rumored hit list.” The school district maintains that the suspension was justifiable, because while the IM posts were made off campus, they had a disruptive impact on the school. David and Janet Mardis appealed the suspension to the school board, but the board unanimously affirmed the suspension for the remainder of the 2006-07 school year.
The Mardis family originally asked for an administrative review of the suspension, which was filed in the Cole Circuit Court on March 14, 2007. Later, Mardis and his parents amended the petition to add the First Amendment issue.
The case was transferred to the Circuit Court of Marion County on May 5, 2008. On Nov. 26, 2008, the case was transferred to the jurisdiction of the Monroe County Circuit Court. In 2009, the case was moved to federal court when both sides asked for a summary judgment. The federal appeals court granted summary judgment to the school district on Dylan’s constitutional claims and remanded his state claim for administrative review.
Wintage, speaking for the school district, said, “The Court of Appeals has said that the lower court was correct when it issued its order granting the district summary judgment on that First Amendment claim.” The only appeal from this point would be to the U.S. Supreme Court, and Wintage said that is an unlikely scenario.
“It is important for districts to be able to act on threats,” Wintage said. “I’d rather have a district be proactive” in regard to responding to threats, than to wait until after a tragedy has occurred to act.
Now that the First Amendment issue has been resolved, Wintage said he expects the administrative review issue will be settled in a short amount of time.
The question that remains is whether Dylan’s discipline can be removed from his permanent school record.
“It went on the back burner once the First Amendment issue” was added, Wintage said.
Dylan Mardis did return to the high school the following year, and graduated ahead of the rest of his class, according to court documents.
Jill Janes said that any costs associated with this five-year case have been paid through the district’s insurance company.
A call to Mardis’ attorney was not immediately returned on Monday.
