
After this suspension Frederick took took his case to court. 5 years later the case made it all the way to the US Court of Appeals. There were many arguments given in this court case throughout the 5 years it took to make it to the Supreme Court. There were also certain facts that showed how and why Frederick won.

Frederick sued under 42 U.S.C. 1983 which was a federal civil rights statute because he believed it was a violation of his First Amendment right, freedom of speech. Originally, the District Court ruled in favor of Morse, once it got to the Court of Appeals the court reversed the decision and sided with Frederick.