- Hazelwood vs. Kuhlmeier
Hazelwood vs. Kuhlmeier. This case concerned, The Spectrum. The Spectrum is a student newspaper and was published apart of a journalism class at Hazelwood East High School, in St. Louis County, Missouri in 1988. On May 10, 1983, the submitted page proofs to the principal, Robert Eugene Reynolds. Reynolds objected two stories of the paper. One story was concerning teen pregnancy, with interviews from 3 students who had been pregnant. The paper contained false names of the girls, but Reynolds was concerned that their identities would be recognized from the text. Reynolds also was concerned that the sexual activity and birth control that was reference in the paper was inappropriate for younger students at the school. The second story contained a concerned divorce where a student was interviewed whose parents were divorce. Reynolds was concerned that the family of the girl should have been given an opportunity to talk about the story or give the child consent before publication. Editor Cathy Kuhlmeier and reporters Leslie Smart and Leanne Tippett, filed suit in January 1984 because Reynolds opted the 2 pages containing the two stories, and had the paper with only 4 pages instead of the original 6 pages.