Appeals court upholds suspension of Hannibal, Mo., student for online threats

From The Quincy Herald-Whig: A federal appeals court has sided with the Hannibal (Mo.) School District in suspending a high school student who had threatened in an online chat to shoot his classmates. The U.S. Court of Appeals upheld a district court ruling that Dylan Mardis' instant messages were true threats unprotected by the First Amendment. The appeals court concluded that Mardis' instant messages on Oct. 24, 2006 -- in which he told a friend he wanted to take a gun to school and shoot people he didn't like -- constituted a substantial disruption of the school environment and, as such, were subject to disciplinary action.