CAPE ELIZABETH, Maine A federal appeals court has ruled that a lower court was justified in blocking the suspension of a Maine high school student who posted a note in a bathroom to draw attention to sexual assault.
Cape Elizabeth schools suspended Aela Mansmann, then a 15-year-old sophomore at Cape Elizabeth High School, after she posted a note in a bathroom that said: Theres a rapist in our school and you know who it is. The American Civil Liberties Union of Maine then took on Aela’s case, and a federal judge blocked the suspension while defending Aela’s note as free speech.
United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit in Boston ruled on Thursday that the lower court was within its right to stop the suspension.
The court’s ruling states that Aela’s actions were far from the best way for the student to express her concerns about student-on-student sexual assault and Cape Elizabeth H.S.s handling of sexual assault claims. However, the appeals court also found that the lower court did not abuse its own discretion in stopping the suspension. Cape Elizabeth schools didn’t respond to a request for comment.
I hope this ruling helps more students speak up about sexual assault, and other topics that are important to them, Aela said in a statement issued by the ACLU.
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