The Supreme Court and My Hometown

In the Spring of 1983, three students from Hazelwood East High School near St. Louis, Missouri filed suit in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri. They claimed that the school had violated their First Amendment rights. The case progressed through the federal courts until it arrived in the Supreme Court of the United States, where where application of the First Amendment to student publications was clarified and limited. Forty years later, in the Fall of 2023 and 2024, high school students from around the St. Louis region were selected to participate in a program that revisited the case in its entirety. Click on an image to explore the exhibit online.

Image of the poster panel explaining the legal precedent, the journalism program at Hazelwood East High School, and the facts that led to the law suit.

Created by 2023 SCMH students: Silas B., Nylah J., Victoria M., Ellie R., and Emelia N.

Image of a poster panel describing the arguments of both the students and Hazelwood school district along with the holding and reasoning of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri.

Created by 2023 SCMH students: Arjun B., Aiyla A., Cordelia E., and Lily D.

Image of the poster panel that explains the reasoning behind the U.S. Court of Appeals majority decision for the students and the explanation of Judge Wollman's dissent.

Created by 2023 SCMH Students: Lucas H., Arius H., Russ D., and Matthew H.

Image of poster panel describing the Supreme Court's final ruling in Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier including an explanation of the reasoning behind both the majority and dissent.

Created by 2023 SCMH students: Cian O., Kendra B., Kimora H., Erin Z., and Renee S.

Image of poster panel describing the impact of the Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier decision, subsequent interpretation of the First Amendment and a Call to Action.

Created by 2023 SCMH students: Mary Jane R., Addi G., Emma B., and Ismail B.

Project Background

This national program called the Supreme Court and My Hometown, is an immersive, in-person civics education program for high school students that examines a Supreme Court case that originated in their hometown. Each program is co-sponsored by the local federal courts in partnership with the Supreme Court Historical Society. Here in St. Louis, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, and the Judicial Learning Center collaborated with the Supreme Court Historical Society to launch the program and have completed two separate cohorts. Both groups analyzed the factual and legal bases of the case, followed the case’s progression through the federal court system, and engaged in an in-depth exploration of the legal profession. The 2023 cohort researched and designed the panels now on exhibit in the Judicial Learning Center. The 2024 cohort interviewed and recorded oral histories of case participants and other experts.

Enter the Online Exhibit Here