The Summary of Goss v. Lopez Case (Essay Sample)

Goss v. Lopez Case
Name
Institution
Goss v. Lopez Case
Complete Citation
Goss v. Lopez, 419 U.S. 565; 955 S.Ct. 729; 42 L. Ed. 2d 725 (1975).
Parties Involved In the Case
The Goss v. Lopez case is a case that was decided by the Supreme Court of the United States in 1975. The case had to do with the due process rights that are enjoyed by students in most public schools. It involved the plaintiff Dwight Lopez and eight other students from the central high school who were suspended for misconduct for ten days. The defendant was Norval Goss, who was an administrator and the director of personnel in Columbus, Ohio public school system (CPSS). The chief lawyer for the defendant was Thomas Bustin while the chief lawyer for the plaintiff was Peter Roos. The case was based on the grounds of their suspension that was done without hearing; thus, it violated their procedural due process rights given under the fourteen amendments. The plaintiffs sued to the district court, which was heard by nine judges where the court granted the Lopez relief, and Gross appealed the case at the Supreme Court.
Date and Place Where the Case Was Tried
The case was first argued on 16 October 1974 before the Supreme Court in the United States, and it was then decided on 22 January 1975 by nine justices. After the hearing decision was made, the case was then appealed to the Supreme Court by the school system and the school board.
Facts of the Case
The United States passed the fourteen amendments, which contained the due process clause, which requires the country to offer reasonable hearings and other legal procedures before deprivation of an individual of property, liberty, or life. The case of Goss and Lopez replied to the due process clause of the fourteen amendments since the school administrators acted against the due process and suspended nine students from the school for ten days without any hearing, meaning the students never had an opportunity to defend themselves against the accusations on them (Wilkinson III, 1975). Seemingly, the schools empowered the administrator to suspend the students for ten days or even expel them.
Markedly, the law also requires the parents of the students to be notified of the action of the children within 24 hours to be given the reason. Further, if students are expelled, they could appeal to the education board, but it gave no such allowances in case of suspension. The appellee students decided to bring a course action against their school administrator pursuing a affirmation that the law from the school that permits such suspensions to students was against the law. The students also wanted a declaration on order directing the officials to eradicate the mentions to the suspension from their records (Hollis, 2016). Based on the above, the students decided to take the matter to the court where they demanded their rights as stated in the due process. The case was first tried in the federal district court where it was ruled in favor of the students where it was found that the rights of the students had been violated. The school system and their lawyers went ahead and appealed the case to the Supreme Court.
Legal Question and Issues Raised
The case involved three issues that were raised.