Student
files suit against school board
The Southern
Legal
Resource
Center
News Release
For additional information contact the
SLRC
at 828.669.5189/slrc@slrc-csa.org
For immediate release
Friday, December 17, 2004
Student files suit against school board
In Confederate prom dress case
LEXINGTON, KY – A young woman who was turned away from her high
school prom because she was wearing a Confederate flag patterned
evening gown will hold a press conference Monday after she files
suit against the school board and officials who kept her out.
Jacqueline Duty, a 2004 graduate of
Russellville
High School,
is asking actual and punitive damages
against the Russell Independent Board of Education, Superintendent
Ronnie H. Back and Russell High Principal John Howard. The suit
will be filed Monday in U.S. District Court in
Lexington.
Following Monday’s filing, a press conference will be held at 1
p.m. on the steps of the U.S. Courthouse,
101 Barr Street.
Ms. Duty will make a brief statement, as will her attorney,
Earl Ray Neal, and
officials of the Southern Legal Resource Center of Black Mountain,
North Carolina, whose
Chief Trial Counsel will act as co-counsel.
Former
SLRC client Timothy
Castorina, successful plaintiff in a landmark Sixth U.S. Circuit
case that struck down a ban on Confederate-themed clothing in
schools, is also expected to attend the press conference. Neal and
Lyons/SLRC represented
Castorina in the 5 ½ year court struggle
“Ms. Duty was intimidated and humiliated on what should have been
one of the happiest nights of her young life by some very
overzealous and wrong-headed people,” said
SLRC Executive Director
Roger McCredie. “She is entitled to vindication and we will work
to see that she gets it.”
Earl Ray Neal is an
attorney and adjunct Law Professor in
Richmond,
KY
The Southern Legal Resource Center is a nonprofit law firm that
advocates on behalf of persons whose civil and constitutional
rights have been violated in connection with expression of their
Confederate heritage.
# # # # #
FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION, CONTACT:
Roger McCredie
(828) 669-5189
exec@slrc-csa.org
rebscape@charter.net
