Date: Friday, October 23, 1998 
Page: B06 
Edition: FIFTH 
Section: LOCAL/REGION 
Column: 

Corrections: UNPUBLISHED CORRECTION - The headline on this story is incorrect. The ACLU did not join the lawsuit but is just offering support to the boy through its amicus brief. 
 

Parents suing Bethlehem Area School District because their son was expelled for creating a computer Web site that threatened two teachers are also suing the principal of the boy's school and the superintendent. 

 And the American Civil Liberties Union will help them press their case. 

 Justin Swidler, through his parents, Howard and Ilene Swidler of Bethlehem, filed an amended suit Thursday adding Superintendent Thomas Doluisio and Nitschmann Middle School Principal A. Thomas Kartsotis as defendants, both personally and in their official capacities. 

 Filed in Northampton County Court, the amended suit seeks punitive damages in excess of $50,000 from the district, Doluisio and Kartsotis, saying their actions "were outrageous and so far beyond societal norms" that they are liable for damages. It also asks for a jury trial and reimbursement for attorney fees. 

 The original suit sought only to overturn the expulsion and remove references to the matter from Justin's school records, and to reimburse the Swidlers the costs of Justin's relocation and private schooling. 

 Justin, 14, is staying with relatives and attending school in Colorado, his family says. The school board voted Aug. 31 to permanently expel him. 

 The amended suit says Doluisio and Kartsotis and other unidentified district employees "resolved to permanently expel (Justin) from the district in retaliation for his speech and expressive conduct, despite their knowledge that (he) had not violated the code of student conduct and had not caused substantial harm to Nitschmann faculty or students." 

 Together, the defendants conspired to deprive Justin of his state and federal constitutional rights, the amended suit says. 

 Contacted at home Thursday, Doluisio said he was unaware of the suit. 

 "Until I get an opportunity to review what they filed and consult with my attorney, I have to limit myself in terms of public comment," he said. "At the appropriate time, I will be more than happy to comment publicly." 

 Kartsotis, too, declined comment. 

 The expulsion violated Justin's constitutional right to free speech because he created the World Wide Web site from his personal computer at home and the statements he made against his math teacher did not represent a "true threat" under state law, the suit says. 

 It also says the district violated Justin's constitutional rights to confrontation, due process of law and equal protection by refusing the Swidlers' request to postpone Justin's expulsion hearing until he could attend, hear the evidence against him and testify. 

 Justin created and maintained the Web site, on which he solicited money to hire a hit man to kill his math teacher, Kathleen Fulmer. It also contained profanity directed at Kartsotis and Fulmer. 

 The amended suit says the district, Doluisio and Kartsotis started suspension and expulsion proceedings against Justin for "an illegal and improper purpose: to punish (him) for making comments critical of Kartsotis and Fulmer, and to remove (him) from Nitschmann in retaliation for speech and expressive activity that the defendants subjectively found offensive." 

 Stephen Presser, legal director of the Pennsylvania ACLU, said Thursday the group will file an amicus -- or friend of the court -- brief in which it will present case law supporting Justin's position that he was wrongly expelled. 

 The case "clearly involves speech with which this young man has suffered quite a heavy penalty for," Presser said. The ACLU will file its brief "at the most useful moment." 

 The Swidlers are represented by Allentown attorney Elizabeth Kapo, who said she is not surprised by the ACLU's involvement. 

 "The ACLU may have determined that this case has some merit in the arena of freedom of expression," Kapo said. "I'm not assuming anything about their involvement." 

 She said she did not contact the ACLU about the case.