Law Update

By Mark Walsh

A federal appeals court has sided with a Missouri high school principal who disqualified a student whose campaign for junior class president included the distribution of condoms.

The student, Adam Henerey, won the election in the spring of 1997. But Principal Jerry Cook of St. Charles (Mo.) High School disqualified Mr. Henerey because he had failed to comply with a school rule that required prior approval from the principal or assistant principal before distributing any materials.

Mr. Henerey and his father sued the 6,370-student St. Charles school district and the principal, alleging that his disqualification was a violation of the First Amendment because school officials objected to the content of his speech—the distribution of condoms...