STUDENTS' RIGHTS LAWYERS - Maryland, Virginia, District of Columbia

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November 21, 2007 - By Jon Katz.

One day in our college French class, we were assigned to do a television commercial spoof. A classmate and I came up with the Pepsi challenge, where we emptied out a can of Coca Cola, and filled it with salt as imitation cocaine.

A couple of high school students found crushed Smarties candies to be a good substitute for cocaine in an anti-drug video they produced. However, school administrators often being the worst of killjoys, the students were suspended for ten days because, according to Jerome Bartley, superintendent of the Central Greene School District: "Although the individuals involved were not using illicit drugs, the district's policy prohibits look-a-like drugs, substances, liquids or devices." Thanks to Drug War Rant for posting this story.

From time to time, students come to me to defend them against such types of nonsense, aside from the more common disciplinary actions for drug possession and fighting. I try to reach the hearts and minds of school administrators and student tribunals to avert suspensions; sometimes it works, but sometimes I just get Stepford responses or paternalistic justifications about the suspension being a form of tough love. Thanks to the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education for continuing the fight for fair disciplinary treatment of students and faculty and for giving a more far-reaching voice on this issue than I ever could. Jon Katz.

Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (Aug. 12, 2002) reports here that it referred partner Jon Katz to American University student Ben Wetmore, who was wrongfully and unfairly disciplined for taping an on-campus speech by Tipper Gore. Read more about the case at Jon Katz's article here. Read UPI's account here.

Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (Jan. 29, 2002) reports that it turned to partner Jon Katz -- calling him "an eminent First Amendment lawyer" -- in response to Professor Sami Al-Arian's request for assistance in fighting the University of Florida's efforts to terminate him for exercising his First Amendment-protected rights. For further information on Dr. Al-Arian's case, see the FIRE's legal analysis and news release.

Marks & Katz, LLC, passionately fights for academic freedom, for students' rights in disciplinary proceedings, and against disproportionate student sanctions. Marks & Katz, LLC, has championed academic justice at the public school and university levels, and will continue to do so. The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education has turned to partner Jon Katz for assistance with people facing threats to their academic freedom, and recognizes Jon as "an eminent First Amendment lawyer."

Heavily experienced in criminal defense, our law partner Jon Katz also defends students in adult and juvenile criminal court.

Marks & Katz strongly believes in charging a fair price for quality legal representation of students' and teachers' academic rights (click here). For assistance defending these rights, please contact partner Jon Katz.

For samples of Marks & Katz's wins for justice, click here. (Each case is different (e.g., with a different set of facts, law, and adjudicators), and this listing is by no means meant to indicate the results Marks & Katz, LLC, will obtain for future clients. Our goal, of course, is for winning advocacy at every turn).