Pangle v. Bend-LaPine School District

10 P.3d 275, 169 Or. App. 376
CourtCourt of Appeals of Oregon
DecidedAugust 30, 2000
Docket97-CV-0316-AB (Control), 97-CV-0413-AB CA A100163 (Control), CA A100173
StatusPublished
Cited by21 cases

This text of 10 P.3d 275 (Pangle v. Bend-LaPine School District) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Oregon primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Pangle v. Bend-LaPine School District, 10 P.3d 275, 169 Or. App. 376 (Or. Ct. App. 2000).

Opinions

[379]*379EDMONDS, P. J.

This case involves the expulsion of a high school student for writing articles included in a publication that he distributed to fellow students on his high school campus. Plaintiffs1 initiated two actions that were consolidated for trial. After trial, the trial court dismissed all of plaintiffs’ claims with prejudice, and plaintiffs appeal. In one action, plaintiffs seek a writ of review, ORS 34.010 through ORS 34.102, on the ground that the Bend-LaPine School District’s (the district) actions violated Chris’s rights under Article I, section 8, of the Oregon Constitution, and the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution.2 In the other, they request declaratory and injunctive relief under ORS 28.010 through ORS 28.160, on the ground that defendants’ actions violated Chris’s rights under Article I, section 8, of the Oregon Constitution, and relief under 42 USC section 1983 for violations of Chris’s First and Fourteenth Amendment Rights.3 On appeal, plaintiffs argue that the publication was protected expression, and they request as relief that the decision to discipline Chris be expunged from his school records.4 We remand for entry of a judgment that dismisses the state law claims for lack of jurisdiction and otherwise affirm.

During the 1996-97 school year, Chris was a junior at Mountain View High School in the Bend-LaPine School [380]*380District. He and other individuals wrote articles included in a publication entitled OUTSIDE! Chris distributed copies of the publication to other students at the high school. The publication was distributed on school grounds without the authorization of school authorities. One article written by Chris included a list of acts that he “would like to see happen at school... to the people who ‘run’ it.” The list described, in part, “[f]eed[ing] snake bite antidote or Visine to someone[,]” as well as “[b]lowing things up” and “bomb threats.” Another article included a list of the names, addresses and telephone numbers of the teachers of the high school.

After Chris distributed OUTSIDE! in late April 1997, Holmberg conducted an investigation, and a disciplinary hearing was scheduled. Chris was suspended from attending school pending the hearing'.5 A hearings officer conducted a factfinding hearing on May 6, 1997. He found that Chris admitted to writing parts of OUTSIDE!, to helping put OUTSIDE! together, and “to the distribution of copies of * * * OUTSIDE! at school.” He also recommended that Chris be expelled from the high school through the first semester of the 1997-98 school year. He also proposed that Chris be allowed to reenter the high school at the beginning of the 1997-98 school year if a plan of administrative probation could be developed that was acceptable to plaintiffs and the school administration. Thereafter, Frickey sent plaintiffs and Chris a letter dated May 12,1997, that provided, in part:

“Based on the findings and recommended discipline from Christopher’s hearing of May 6, 1997, he is hereby expelled through the first semester of the 1997-98 school year. * * *
“The administration at Mountain View High School further offers that Christopher be allowed to re-enroll at [381]*381Mountain View, on probation, at the beginning of the 1997-98 school year (September 2, 1997). The Plan of Administrative Probation shall be developed by the Mountain View High administration and would need to be agreed to by Christopher and a parent to re-enter school prior to February[ ] 1998.”

On July 2,1997, plaintiffs filed the declaratory judgment action. On August 18, 1997, plaintiffs filed the writ of review petition. Plaintiffs filed their amended petition for a writ of review on August 25, 1997. The record also reveals that the initial plan of administrative probation was developed by August 21, 1997, and, apparently, Chris reentered school in the fall of 1997 pursuant to it. The matters went to trial in September 1997.

After trial, the court entered a judgment dismissing the claims in both actions. In its memorandum opinion, the trial court granted defendants’ ORCP 21 motion to dismiss plaintiffs’ amended petition for a writ of review because the petition was untimely. Also, the trial court ruled that

“OUTSIDE! is intended to materially and substantially interfere with the school’s operation. It is not simply an expression of an unpleasant criticism or unpopular viewpoint. A school is well within constitutional parameters to prohibit publications like OUTSIDE! which actively promote chaos and disruption within the school, and to impose discipline for the circulation of such material. Defendants did not violate [Chris’s] constitutional rights by expelling him from school.”

I. THE WRIT OF REVIEW ACTION

We begin by addressing the issues concerning the writ of review action. Before we discuss plaintiffs’ assignment of error, we note that “[t]he writ of review process is sui generis.” Shipp v. Multnomah County, 133 Or App 583, 589, 891 P2d 1345, rev den 321 Or 246 (1995). “It is a creature of statute, and the trial court has authority to act only when the statutory requirements have been met.” Shevchynski v. City of Eugene, 157 Or App 355, 360, 970 P2d 237 (1998). In Shevchynski, we held that, “before a court may review a proceeding pursuant to a writ of review, the court must first issue the writ. Otherwise, there simply is no action before the [382]*382court to be reviewed.” 157 Or App at 361 (emphasis in original). See ORS 34.060 (providing, in part, that “[tjhe writ shall be directed to the court, officer, or tribunal whose decision or determination is sought to be reviewed”); see also ORS 34.080 (providing, in part, that “[ujpon the filing of the order allowing the writ, and the petition and undertaking of the plaintiff, the clerk shall issue the writ, as ordered[,]” and that the writ shall be served to the opposite party). In Shevchynski, no writ was issued or served because the trial court failed to issue the order allowing the writ. Consequently, we vacated the trial court’s judgment and remanded the case for the issuance of the writ depending on whether the trial court determined that the statutory prerequisites had been met.

Our review of the record in this case does not reveal that the trial court ordered the issuance of the writ or that the writ to the district issued or was served. Rather, plaintiffs served a civil summons on the district. However, there is no need to remand for the issuance of a writ if the trial court was correct when it ruled that the petition was not filed timely.

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Pangle v. Bend-LaPine School District
10 P.3d 275 (Court of Appeals of Oregon, 2000)

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Bluebook (online)
10 P.3d 275, 169 Or. App. 376, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/pangle-v-bend-lapine-school-district-orctapp-2000.