A WALKING, TALKING CIVICS LESSON

Teen's Case Before U.S. Supreme Court

Dartmouth College

HANOVER - Dartmouth College student Lindsay Earls sat in the wood- paneled
Tower Room of Baker Library last week, studying judicial review for a
course titled "Civil Liberties and Individual Rights in the United States."

For Earls, who's thinking about a career in constitutional law, the
course's topic resonates beyond the realm of academics: She is the 19-
year-old freshman whose U.S. Supreme Court case will decide whether public
schools nationwide can conduct random drug testing of students involved in
a wide array of extracurricular activities.

As a member of the high school choir in Tecumseh, Okla., Earls was
compelled to take a urine test in 1999 after her school district instituted
random drug testing for students participating in activities that involved
interscholastic competition. Earls felt the test was unjustified - since no
one suspected her of drug use - and an invasion of her privacy.

Her family consulted ACLU lawyer Graham Boyd, who advised them that the
only way to change the policy was to mount a legal challenge. Last month,
Earls spent part of spring break listening to her case being argued before
the Supreme Court. The court agrees to review approximately 100 cases a
year - or one out of every 70 petitions that it receives.

Earls, who said she never imagined her case would reach the nation's
highest court, said the experience was "incredible."

Earls returned to campus two weeks ago after her case had been featured on
the front page of The New York Times and on CBS's morning show. "It's been
a thrilling response I've gotten here," she said. Students she didn't know
have approached her to ask, "Are you Lindsay? Are you the girl with the
Supreme Court case?"

"When I say 'yeah,' they're like, 'wow, that's so cool.' "

Her roommate, Carolyn Parma, is one of the students who has supported
Earls's efforts. "I didn't see the necessity for drug testing in those kind
of (non-athletic) activities," said Parma, 19, "so when Lindsay told me her
rights felt violated, I kind of agreed."

Her case has also come up in some Dartmouth College government courses.
(Ironically, it was discussed in her American politics course last fall on
a day when she had to miss class to meet with her lawyer.)

But the recent outpouring of interest from the Dartmouth community doesn't
reflect the challenges Earls faced during the three years that her case
moved through the court system. In fact, Earls said, she wasn't sure she
wanted to continue after the initial ruling against her, in U.S. District
Court. A fourth-generation graduate of Tecumseh High School, Earls was
uncomfortable opposing the district in which she'd been a student nearly
all her life.

After speaking to her parents and grandmother, however, "I knew that I
would have them supporting me no matter what, so at that point I didn't
feel like I would have anything to lose," said Earls. "I decided that it
was important enough that someone needed to stick with it."

Her high school friends supported her decision, but a lot of people in the
community did not. Many were pleased with the school board's anti- drug
policy and expressed outrage at the Earlses' move to challenge it. There
were hurtful letters in the local paper and nasty calls to radio shows.
There were also rumors suggesting that Lindsay Earls used drugs, even
though she passed three drug tests. (Earls said her parent forbade her to
listen to talk radio because of the level of meanness.)

"They really didn't see the whole invasion of privacy side," Earls said of
the people who spoke against her.

Earls's mother, Lori, said there were people who privately supported the
family's decision, although they were far less vocal than those who opposed
it. "We're really proud of her for pursuing it," said Lori Earls, a medical
technologist. "It's not easy for someone her age to stand up and voice
their opinion about something they think is wrong, and she has done a very
good job of that."

Hot topic at home

Mike McCormick, executive editor of the Shawnee News-Star, a daily
newspaper that covers Tecumseh, said the town of 6,000 residents tends to
lean toward the conservative side. He said he believes that people have had
strong feelings on both sides of the issue, with community sentiment tilted
slightly in favor of the school board's position. "I do not think this is
something at this point in time that has been that divisive (in Tecumseh),"
he said.

The Supreme Court agreed to hear the case after the U.S. Court of Appeals
for the 10th Circuit ruled in Earls's favor last year. Earls called the
high court's announcement in November "a pleasant surprise," although her
reaction was tempered by the possibility that the favorable ruling could be
overturned. Nonetheless, she said, "I felt this is an issue that needs to
be decided for the entire nation, not just the 10th Circuit."

In a 1995 decision, the Supreme Court approved drug testing for students on
athletic teams, citing the school's interest in combating a known drug
problem in which some athletes were involved. Earls argued that random
testing should not be extended to students who participate in other
extracurricular activities, in part because they do not face the special
risks that athletes do by using drugs.

Asked how she felt about Justice Anthony Kennedy's remark implying she was
a "druggie," Earls said, "I couldn't believe he said that. I just started
laughing in the audience. It was pretty frustrating that I couldn't just
stand up and say, 'Look at me: Do I look like a druggie?' "

Earls said she tries not to think about the ruling that the Supreme Court
is expected to announce this summer. But news accounts in The New York
Times and The Washington Post have said the court appears likely to decide
in an extremely close vote that broad drug testing is constitutional.

If the court rules against her, "it will be upsetting but it won't make me
feel any differently about it," Earls said. "I feel like someone needs to
stand up for students' rights, and even if I lose I'll know that I did try.
It's more like a thing within myself that I needed to do."