SCOTUS Refuses Middleboro Student’s ‘Two Genders’ T-Shirt Case

A local case I thought would surely be heard by the United States Supreme Court was rejected without a hearing by seven of the nine Supreme Court Justices.

Liam Morrison, then a seventh-grade student at Middleboro's John T. Nichols Middle School, was sent home twice in the spring of 2023 after refusing to remove what some say were controversial and offensive T-shirts.

The first shirt that got 12-year-old Liam in hot water with school officials read "There Are Only Two Genders." The second read "There Are [Censored] Genders."

In October 2024, the Brockton Enterprise reported, "School officials said that his shirt violated the school's dress code, which bans clothing that could cause harm or damage to a 'protected class of students' – kids who identify as transgender and are particularly at risk of bullying and suicide."

Morrison believes his right to free speech and freedom of expression have been violated. He told Fox News in a 2023 interview, "I'm just voicing my opinion about a statement that I believe to be true."

"I feel like some people may think that I'm imposing hate speech, even though it's not directed towards anyone," Morrison told Fox.

In June 2024, the First Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court ruling that found the school district was justified in asking Morrison to remove the shirts, and the Morrison family appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.

The Morrisons were represented by the law firm Alliance Defending Freedom and endorsed by the Massachusetts Family Institute.

ADF senior counsel David Cortman said in a 2024 press release, "The school actively promotes its view about gender through posters and 'Pride' events, and it encourages students to wear clothing with messages on the same topic – so long as that clothing expresses the school's preferred views on the subject."

Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito issued separate dissents, arguing the high court should have taken up the case.