Nurre v. Whitehead

Decision Date22 March 2010
Docket NumberNo. 09-671.,09-671.
Citation130 S.Ct. 1937
PartiesKathryn NURRE, Petitioner, v. Carol WHITEHEAD, individually and in her official capacity as the Superintendent of Everett School District No. 2.
CourtU.S. Supreme Court
OPINION TEXT STARTS HERE

Justice ALITO, dissenting from denial of certiorari.

The petition for a writ of certiorari is denied.

The Ninth Circuit's decision in this case is not easy to square with our free speech jurisprudence. For this reason and because of the decision's important practical implications, I would grant the petition for a writ of certiorari.

I

At the time of the events at issue, petitioner, Kathryn Nurre, was a high school senior and a member of her school's wind ensemble. In keeping with a school tradition, the school's band director told the seniors in the ensemble that they could select a piece from their musical repertoire to be performed during their graduation ceremony. The 2006 graduates, including petitioner, chose Franz Biebl's "Ave Maria,"1 a piece that they had previously performed and that "they believed showcased their talent and the culmination of their instrumental work." 580 F.3d 1087, 1091 (C.A.9 2009). At the prior year's graduation ceremony, the student choir had performed "`Up Above My Head,' a vocal piece which included express references to `God,' `heaven,' and `angels,'" and the school district claimed that this had resulted in "complaints from graduation attendees" and at least one angry letter to the editor of a local newspaper. Ibid.; id., at 1101 (M. Smith, J., dissenting in part and concurring in judgment) (quoting lyrics); see also Brief in Opposition 7, and n. 28. Fearful that the performance of Biebl's "Ave Maria" would cause a similar reaction, even though the performance would not include the lyrics of the piece, school district officials vetoed the ensemble members' choice "because the title and meaning of the piece had religious connotations

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15 cases
  • Norwood v. Cate, CASE NO. 1:09-cv-00330-AWI-SAB (PC)
    • United States
    • U.S. District Court — Eastern District of California
    • March 15, 2013
    ... ... Nurre v. Whitehead , 580 F.3d 1087, 1092 (9th Cir. 2009), cert. denied , 130 S.Ct. 1937; Long v. Cnty. of L.A. , 442 F.3d 1178, 1185 (9th Cir. 2006); ... ...
  • Johnson v. Poway Unified Sch. Dist.
    • United States
    • U.S. Court of Appeals — Ninth Circuit
    • September 13, 2011
    ... ... Nurre v. Whitehead, 580 F.3d 1087, 1096 (9th Cir.2009) (quoting Vasquez, 487 F.3d at 1255), cert. denied U.S. , 130 S.Ct. 1937, 176 L.Ed.2d 399 ... ...
  • Todd v. Short
    • United States
    • U.S. District Court — Eastern District of California
    • December 20, 2012
    ... ... County of Los Angeles, 442 F.3d 1178, 1185 (9th Cir. 2006) (citing West v. Atkins, 487 U.S. 42, 48 (1988)); accord Nurre v. Whitehead, 580 F.3d 1087, 1092 (9th Cir. 2009), cert. denied, 130 S. Ct. 1937 (2010). Section 1983 "shields citizens from unlawful government ... ...
  • Winters v. Jordan
    • United States
    • U.S. District Court — Eastern District of California
    • March 14, 2011
    ... ... County of Los Angeles , 442 F.3d 1178, 1185 (9th Cir. 2006) (citing West v. Atkins , 487 U.S. 42, 48 (1988)); accord Nurre v. Whitehead , 580 F.3d 1087, 1092 (9th Cir. 2009), cert. denied , 130 S. Ct. 1937 (2010). Conclusory allegations of a violation of Section 1983 or ... ...
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