Students' First Amendment free-speech rights were "a little bit wounded" by the U.S. Supreme Court's recent ruling in the "Bong Hits for Jesus" case, but have "survived," according to legal expert Douglas K. Mertz of the American Civil Liberties Union.

Education Week reported July 18 that Mertz, who argued before the court on behalf of the Juneau, Alaska student who hoisted the now-infamous banner, said that the narrow Supreme Court decision left plenty of room for more serious student speech on political and social issues.

The high court stressed the right of schools to regulate drug-related messages on school grounds.

"The special characteristics of the school environment, and the governmental interest in stopping student drug abuse allow schools to restrict student expression that they reasonably regard as promoting illegal drug use," wrote Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr.

But Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr., who joined the 6-3 majority in the case, emphasized that the decision "provides no support for any restriction of speech that can plausibly be interpreted as commenting on any political or social issue."

"Justices Alito and [Anthony] Kennedy expressed very strong pro-student-speech views," said Kenneth Starr, who represented the Juneau high-school principal who confiscated the "Bong Hits" banner at a school-sanctioned event. "That means that another [student-speech] case might be decided differently."