Nicola Lucaine
Case opinion # 2
Facts of Case
The northern Mississippi school district has a policy requiring that all prom dates
must be of the opposite sex. Constance McMillen, 18-year old high school senior from
Itawamba County, Mississippi was banned from attending her high school prom that was to
be held on April 2. McMillen is a lesbian student who wanted to attend the prom wearing a
tuxedo and with her girlfriend as a date.
On February 5 a memo was sent out to all students about the expected criteria for
the prom. In the memo it stated everyone attending the prom with a date, dates must be of
opposite sex.
McMillen approached the school district about the policy and they responded to her
with the following statement, “she and her girlfriend wouldn't be allowed to arrive
together, that she would not be allowed to wear a tuxedo, and that she and her girlfriend
might be asked to leave if their presence made any other students ''uncomfortable.''
The American Civil Liberties Union of Mississippi gave the school district time to
change the policy. As a result the high school prom was canceled.
Legal Question
Should northern Mississippi school district have the right to restrict same sex
couples from attending the school prom together?
Is restricting Constance McMillen from attending prom with her girlfriend in
violation of her first and fourteenth amendment right?
Decision
I vote in favor of McMillen.
Reasoning
Denying the right of a same sex high school couple from attending the prom
together is an act of prejudice. It puts them in the situation of being an outcast and it gives
other students an opportunity to act out against homosexual students.
It violates their rights of freedom of speech and expression under the first
amendment. It also violates their rights under the fourteenth amendment for equal
protection under the law.
Same sex couples attending the prom together is not a clear and present danger.
The school district must have facts to prove that danger will occur as a result of the same
sex attending the prom together. People feeling uncomfortable as a result of a same sex
couple in attendance are not in danger.
McMillen being banned from the prom is also in violation of the title IX act. Title IX is
a federal law, prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in any education program or
activity receiving federal financial assistance.
In the case of Aaron Fricke v. Richard B. Lynch (1980), the courts ruled in favor of
Aaron Fricke a high school student who wanted to attend the prom with a date of the same
sex. The courts believed it was in violation of his first and fourteenth amendment right.
Work Cited
AARON FRICKE v. RICHARD B. LYNCH 491 F. Supp. 381; (1980 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 11770)