Judge: District won't pay damages in Bong Hits case

The Juneau School District announced late Friday what officials described as the end of the "Bong Hits 4 Jesus" lawsuit, saying that U.S. District Court Judge John Sedwick ruled in favor of former Juneau-Douglas High School Principal Deborah Morse and the School District over a request for damages.

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Spokeswoman Susan Christianson said the ruling dashed former student Joseph Frederick's attempt to breathe life back into his case following the U.S. Supreme Court's rejection of his First Amendment claims.

Superintendent Peggy Cowan said Juneau was tired of the Frederick suit and the community wanted to move on.

"Judge Sedwick's decision should allow us to do that," she said.

Frederick's attorney Doug Mertz called the ruling a "nonissue," saying that Sedwick's decision was predictable and expected.

"We now have the opportunity to return to the court of appeals on the state issues," he said. It shows the extent that the School District will go to avoid the state issues, he said.

Frederick, who lives in Idaho and teaches English in China, could not be reached for comment. He graduated in 2002.

Following the narrow 5-4 decision from the Supreme Court favoring Morse last session, the case was returned to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. That court returned the case to Sedwick, who previously ruled against Frederick.

Christianson said Sedwick dismissed Frederick's remaining claim seeking damages because students no longer subject to school authorities no longer have claim to "declaratory or injunctive relief." She said the judge noted that Frederick failed to appeal the court's prior ruling that state law immunized Morse and the School Board from claims for damages.

That left only Frederick's demand that the School District remove any references to discipline associated with his display of the banner, Christianson said. Since the School District already expunged the records, the judge dismissed Frederick's claims as moot, she said.

Cowan expunged Frederick's education record of the incident in late July, five years after the incident.

Sedwick wrote Wednesday, "Accordingly, Frederick's remaining claims for declaratory and injunctive relief under Alaska law are moot."

He gave the School District's attorneys 20 days "to lodge a proposed amended judgment for the court's consideration."

School officials were pleased with the outcome.

"This has been a time-consuming and lengthy litigation," Cowan said. "I was confident Judge Sedwick's prior ruling that the board and Principal Morse had not violated Mr. Frederick's rights under the Alaska Constitution would be upheld."