Prom Drama

Kerry Lofy is taking his prom night drama to court.

From AP:

One Wisconsin teenager who had a prom night he'll never forget is fighting a disorderly conduct ticket issued by police after he wore a black, spaghetti-strap dress and blond wig to the event.

"The only thing that Mr. Lofy did wrong was wearing a purse that didn't match the dress and open-toed shoes before Memorial Day," said Madison lawyer Erik Guenther, who will represent Kerry Lofy. "There's just no rational basis for the citation and the school district in telling him beforehand that he couldn't do it."

The senior at Badger High School in Lake Geneva will plead not guilty and ask the city to dismiss the ticket, which carries a fine of $249, Guenther said.

Guenther said he would also advise Lofy, 18, to file a lawsuit against the school for violating his first amendment rights to free expression by telling him he couldn't wear a dress and disciplining him for doing so.

...Lake Geneva school district administrator Jim Gottinger said Friday he was confident that the school's dress code and rules for prom were appropriate and would be upheld in court.

He said most of the discipline was related to Lofy's behavior at the event, and his insubordination for ignoring warnings about appropriate attire.

Gottinger refused to issue an apology, which Guenther demanded.

...Lofy said he wore the outfit after researching the first amendment and concluding, "I'm going to take a stand. They can't say what I can or cannot wear, especially at a dance."

...Guenther, a criminal defense and constitutional law attorney, said his Madison law firm, Hurley, Burish & Milliken, S.C., volunteered to represent him free of charge.

"This is a $250 ticket but if you don't protect the fringes of free speech the next action is at your front door," he said. "These acts cannot be tolerated."
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This is starting to get uglier than Lofy looked on prom night.

According to a girl who attended the dance, it was not until Lofy engaged in some risque dance moves that school authorities took action.

Questionable dancing and inappropriate dress is not unusual at proms. It is unusual to turn to the police to handle the matter.

Lofy defied school administrators. He was wrong to do so. However, Lake Geneva Badger High School certainly could have dealt with Lofy's behavior without involving the police. Now, it's a national story and headed for the courts.

The last time Wisconsin received national attention for a prom night drama, the courtroom proceedings were televised on Court TV. Green Bay Packer Mark Chmura was accused of an inappropriate "encounter" with a seventeen year old girl. I doubt the boy that wore the dress to prom will garner that much interest.