Denver, USA - A federal appeals court has refused to revive a lawsuit filed by a student who was punished after talking about her religion during her high school graduation speech.
A three-judge panel of the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on May 29 sided with a federal judge who threw out the lawsuit last year. The appeals court says Erica Corder was disciplined for failing to follow school policy, not for her religious views.
Lewis-Palmer High School officials in Monument had screened Corder's 2006 speech, but she changed her text and urged the audience to consider the Christian faith.
Before giving Corder her diploma, the principal required her to write a letter explaining her actions and acknowledging the remarks were her personal views.
Mathew Staver, founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel, a Lynchburg, Va.-based religious rights group that represents Corder, said he will advise Corder to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
"This isn't school speech, this is student speech," Staver said. "She can have religious views, just like other students can have secular views."