Justices should be able to see the obvious when determining the fate of student free speech

The U.S. Supreme Court took on its first case about student free speech rights in almost 20 years this week.

The case came from Juneau, Alaska, where a student was suspended for having a banner that read "Bong Hits 4 Jesus," the high school principal's reason for suspension being that the student was promoting drug use.

In 2002, student Joseph Frederick held up the banner on a public sidewalk across the street from the school during school hours, in an attempt to be funny and get on television while the Winter Olympics torch relay passed. He was suspended for 10 days.

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