In February of last year, Greencastle Middle School Principal Shawn Gobert stumbled across a MySpace profile purportedly created by him. On the page, a student (identified only be the initials A.B., due to her age), made a few "heated" comments concerning the school's policy on body piercings.

After being reported to authorities for her obscenity laced comments, the state filed a delinquency petition alleging that A.B.'s acts would have been harassment, identity deception and identity theft if committed by an adult. The juvenile court dropped most of the charges. But in June of last year, the juvenile judge on the case found the comments made by A.B. did meet the standards for obscenity and placed A.B. on nine months of probation. A.B. appealed the ruling, arguing that her comments were protected political speech under both the state and federal constitutions because they dealt with school policy.

Apparently, the Indiana Court of Appeals agreed, stating that A.B. right to freedom of speech and expression were indeed violated by the lower court's ruling. On Monday, the three-judge panel ordered the Putnam Circuit Court to set aside its penalty against the girl.

The Court of Appeals found that the comments were protected and that the juvenile court had unconstitutionally restricted her right of free expression. "While we have little regard for A.B.'s use of vulgar epithets, we conclude that her overall message constitutes political speech," Judge Patricia Riley wrote in the 10-page opinion.