February 18, 1972

Three high-school students at Mena (Polk County)—Virginia Crain, Peggy Strickland, and Jo Wall—confessed to spiking the punch at an extracurricular function with twenty-four ounces of a flavored malt liquor beverage. Wood v. Strickland is the title of a U.S. Supreme Court decision that grew out of a local dispute over this teenage prank. This case has attained an importance far beyond its origins, helping to define the constitutional rights of public school students and the parameters under which public officials may be sued in federal court for monetary damages.

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