The American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania filed a lawsuit on November 14, 2010, on behalf of two Easton Area School District (EASD) students claiming that EASD's ban on wearing rubber bracelets with the phrase "I ♥ Boobies! (Keep A Breast)" violates the girls' First Amendment right to free speech. The ACLU is asking a federal judge to issue an emergency injunction against the district's bracelet ban and to lift punishment imposed on the girls, which forbids their participation in extra-curricular activities.
On April 12, 2011, a judge issued a preliminary injunction that allows the girls to wear the bracelets. EASD appealed the injunction.
In February 2013, Mary Catherine Roper of the ACLU of Pennsylvania argued the plaintiffs' case before 14 judges on the Third Circuit Court of Appeals.
On August 5, 2013, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit upheld an injunction preventing the Easton Area School District (EASD) from enforcing a ban on the popular breast cancer awareness bracelets.
In September 2014, the District agreed to pay Plaintiffs $385,000 in attorneys' fees to settle the case.
Press Releases
- Federal Court of Appeals Strikes Down School's Ban on 'I (Heart) Boobies!' Cancer Awareness Bracelets - 8/5/13
- Court Issues Injunction Against School's Ban on 'I (Heart) Boobies' Cancer Awareness Bracelets - 4/12/11
- ACLU-PA Sues To End School's Ban on 'I (Heart) Boobies' Cancer-Awareness Bracelets - 11/15/10
