The Supreme Court ruling, without comment, let stand a $153,660 damage award to Christopher Scionti, a freshman at the time the 1995 incident took place at Burlington Central High School in Kane County, Ill.

Scionti was handed an envelope in class by another student. The envelope contained a plastic bag with a white powder that looked like cocaine. When Scionti saw what was in the envelope, he threw it toward the back of the classroom. Another student picked up the envelope and brought it to the principal's office.

Testing found that the substance was not an illegal drug. But since the school's rules against drug use and possession prohibit students from possessing "look-alike" drugs, school officials expelled Scionti without letting him question the students who testified against him, or even to learn their identities.

Illinois state courts reversed Scionti's expulsion, and a trial jury awarded him $153,660 on his claim that school officials violated his civil rights. A state appeals court upheld the jury's decision.

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