The Indiana Supreme Court has thrown out a finding of child delinquency for a middle school student who posted a vulgarity-laced tirade against her principal on MySpace.com.
While a state trial court found the girl, “A.B.,” delinquent on several harassment charges, a state appeals court had reversed that decision, ruling that the student’s speech was protected by the First Amendment.
The Indiana Supreme Court last week also ruled for the student, but on different grounds. In a unanimous opinion, the court said the student’s message was not truly directed at the principal because he was not among the MySpace subscribers authorized to view it.