BONG HiTS 4 JESUS
A Perfect Constitutional Storm in Alaska's Capital
by Foster, James C.
384 pages, 6 x 9
Format: paper and electronic, click on "Buy This Book" for pricing options
Price: $29.95
2010
In January 2002, for the first time, the Olympic Torch
Relay visited Alaska on its way to the Winter Games.
When the relay runner and accompanying camera
cars passed Juneau-Douglas High School, senior
Joseph Frederick and several friends unfurled a
fourteen-foot banner reading “BONG HiTS 4 JESUS.”
An in-depth look at student rights within a public
high school, this book chronicles the events that followed:
Frederick’s suspension, the subsequent suit
against the school district, and, ultimately, the escalation
of a local conflict into a federal case. Brought to
life through interviews with the principal figures in
the case, BONG HiTS 4 JESUS is a gripping tale of the
boundaries of free speech in an American high school.
By following one case very closely over a long time [Foster] finds opportunities to discuss a variety of issues involved in constitutional litigation. . . . This is an interesting analysis that clearly reveals there is more to the law than the pronouncement of high courts.
—Law & Politics Review
Dangerous, disruptive unprotected speech or a sophomoric
grab for TV face time? Foster’s fascinating and
comprehensive book about Morse v. Frederick...walks
readers through every stage of a case that resulted in
the U.S. Supreme Court establishing a “messy precedent”
that may deeply affect First Amendment speech
rights for years to come. Sensitive in its portrayal of
both students’ rights and school authority, BONG HiTS
4 JESUS...considers whether this recalibration of student
speech rights is a major retreat.
—Jill Norgren, Professor Emerita, The City University of New York
An appealing synthesis of first-person interviews, historical and doctrinal
analysis, and political science research on judicial politics, the book examines the case from multiple perspectives as a vehicle for critical understanding of the Supreme Court's decision.
—S. B. Lichtman, Shippensburg University, Choice, May 2011