Appeals court tosses out Kentucky teen's lawsuit

This from the Herald-Leader:

ASHLAND, Ky. --A Kentucky student won't be allowed to proceed with a lawsuit against his school district for instituting a policy that barred him from expressing his opposition to homosexuality, a federal appeals court ruled Wednesday.

The U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals, in a 2-1 vote, said Boyd County High School student Timothy Morrison failed to show that he was harmed by the policy that was later changed.

Judge Deborah L. Cook, joined by Judge John R. Adams, also said Morrison didn't show how winning a lawsuit seeking only $1 in damages would rectify his situation. Judge Karen Nelson Moore dissented.

"This case should be over," Cook wrote. "Allowing it to proceed to determine the constitutionality of an abandoned policy - in the hope of awarding the plaintiff a single dollar - vindicates no interest and trivializes the important business of the federal courts."

...The ruling is a reversal of a previous ruling that held Morrison should be allowed to pursue the lawsuit. The ACLU had supported the Alliance Defense Fund in arguing that Morrison should be permitted to pursue his case...