At Penn State, an applicant for admission as a degree candidate revealed that he had been convicted of harassment, simple assault and driving while intoxicated.

In light of this history, Penn State told him he’d have to attend five free counseling sessions with a school counselor during his first semester.

When he refused to attend the sessions, the school cancelled his classes for the next semester and placed his admission on hold.

How did the student respond? He filed a lawsuit against the school, asking for $3.2 million.

The student argued that requiring him to attend counseling constituted cruel and unusual punishment under the Eighth Amendment. He also said he was treated differently based on race, and he claimed he was denied his due process rights.

The court threw out the case. The Eighth Amendment’s bar on cruel and unusual punishment applies only to convicted prisoners, it pointed out. And there wasn’t enough evidence to support the race bias and due process claims.

Cite: Wright v. Speece.

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