Recently, a state court ruled that questionable photographs taken at a slumber party do not constitute pornographic materials, and that any actions taken by a school to censor their students' photos is a violation of those students' First Amendment right to free speech. Although this case was decided in Indiana state court, it will be interesting to see whether it bears upon subsequent decisions in Pennsylvania or any other states as the debate about sexting and child pornography continues to pick up steam across the country.

According to court documents, the case began at a slumber party when three female high school students posed for photos in which they used lollipops to simulate various sexual acts and positions. After the students posted the photos on their Facebook and MySpace pages, another student printed them out and showed the high school principal.

After determining that the students had violated the school's code of conduct, the principal suspended them from all extracurricular activities for the entire upcoming school year. Because two of the three students participated in athletics, they found themselves effectively off their teams.

The students contacted the ACLU, who assisted them in filing a lawsuit against the school, alleging that the principal had violated their First Amendment right to free speech by censoring their photos and banning them from extracurricular activities. The court agreed, ruling that it was unconstitutional for the school to "discipline students for out of school conduct that brings 'dishonor' or 'discredit' upon the school."

While the ACLU was making a constitutional argument on the right to free speech, this case will likely have an effect on subsequent court decisions in which a prosecutor is attempting to label a private photo as child pornography. We will continue to update this blog with any new developments.

Source: Forbes, "Court Upholds Teen Girls' Right To Post Racy Photos Of Themselves Online," Kashmir Hill, August 16, 2011