Indiana High Court Reverses Myspace.com Discipline

The Indiana Supreme Court has reversed a trial court's
decision that a middle school student was a "delinquent
child" for posting statements about her former principal on
the internet website myspace.com, A.B. v Indiana, Doc No.
67501-0709-JV-373 (Ind, May 13, 2008). The middle
school student, A.B., posted critical statements regarding her
former principal, Shawn Gobert, after transferring to another
school. The trial court ruled that A.B. was a delinquent
child because her statements, if made by an adult, would
have constituted the criminal offense of harassment. The
Indiana Supreme Court disagreed. The Court held that there
was insufficient evidence that A.B.'s statements violated the
state's harassment statute.

The court began its opinion by describing the workings
of myspace.com. According to the court, individuals can
create "profiles" listing their interests in books, television,
music, movies, etc. These individuals also may post
pictures, music, and videos. Myspace allows its members to
control who can view their "profile." Myspace members can
make their "profile" public or private. A member can
restrict public access to her "profile" but may make it
viewable to those accepted as "friends." However, information
such as the member's photo and first name are always
displayed for public view. "Group" pages differ from a
"profile" in that "group" pages are sites people with common
interests can join to make postings. A "group" can be public
or private at the discretion of its creator.

A.B. began the 2005-2006 school year at Green Castle
Middle School where Shawn Gobert had been principal for
13 years. After several months, A.B. transferred to a
different school. In February 2006, Gobert learned that A.B.
posted a vulgar tirade on myspace.com targeting his enforcement
of school policy. Gobert investigated and discovered that
a "Mr. Gobert" profile had been created on myspace.com,
purportedly by him. He later learned that
Green Castle Middle School student R.B. created the fake
"Mr. Gobert" profile. R.B. allowed 26 "friends" to access
the page. A.B. was one of the "friends." A.B. posted the
following statement on the private "Mr. Gobert" profile:
hey you piece of greencastle s**t. what the f**k
do you think of me know (sic) that you cant [sic]
control me? huh? ha ha ha guess what ill [sic]
wear my f**king piercings all day long and to
school and you cant [sic] do s**t about it.! ha ha
f**king ha! stupid b**tard!
A.B. also posted:
die. . . gobert. . . die.
A.B. then created her own myspace "group" and filled it
with vulgar expletives directed against Gobert, including:
"F**K MR. GOBERT AND GC SCHOOLS!" The "group"
was accessible by the general public.
Gobert and Green Castle Schools initiated disciplinary
procedures against A.B. and charged A.B. with "delinquency"
based on the elements of the crime of harassment,
a class B felony under Indiana law. According to the
Indiana Criminal Code, harassment includes the following:
A person who, with intent to harass, annoy, or
alarm another person but with no intent of legitimate
communication:
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