Kevin Swanson Case Study

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Question II: Adam Audrey v. Kevin Swanson
In order to regulate the alarming increase popularity of cosmetic surgery, Congress enacted the Federal Cosmetic Surgery Protection Act (FCSPA). Kevin Swanson, the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is charged with the enforcement of FCSPA. Under this legislation “A person is not permitted to undergo a major cosmetic surgery procedure, except where necessary for the physical health of the person or to correct a major physical abnormality that interfere with normal appearance, unless approved by Congress a Cosmetic Surgery Approval (CSA) panel created at each facility licensed to perform cosmetic surgery”.
The enactment of this law has already caused some controversy. Adam …show more content…

Maria Andrews is a junior at Hendricks High School, located in the district of Podunk. As a junior, Maria was Vice President of the student body and was an active member of the school community. On April, when the yearbooks became available for review, Maria noticed that the picture of her fellow classmate, Amber Green, was missing. Later, Maria found out that Amber’s picture had not been printed because she was wearing a tuxedo. As a result, on April 10 during the student body campaigns for student body present, Maria announced her candidacy and her “See the Big Picture” platform advocating that she would improve the school for “everyone”. As a campaign, strategy, Maria wore a tuxedo the next 3 days. Out of the three days, the first was uneventful. In the last two, however, teachers reported that their classes had been disrupted by Maria’s choice of wardrobe. Worried by the upcoming Advance Placement (AP) examinations, the teachers who had been irritated by the disruption Maria’s wardrobe was causing, decided to do something about it. On Friday of that week, Maria again wore a tuxedo, and as a result, Maria was not allowed into her class and was sent to the principal’s office. Principal Belding suspended Maria for five days and was prohibited from running for student body president the next year. Maria then sued Principal Belding alleging that he had violated her right to free speech protected under the First Amendment.
In the courts, the District Court found in favor of Maria, while the Court of Appeals reversed the ruling of the District. This case will soon be heard at the Supreme Court. The following paragraphs will provide an analysis of the First Amendment issues posed in this

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