Case 1: Tinker v. Des Moines (1969)

Case 1: Tinker v. Des Moines (1969)

In 1965, several Des Moines students decided to protest the Vietnam War by wearing black armbands to school. Des Moines school principals discovered the plan. On December 14, 1965, school officials adopted a policy that any student wearing an armband to school would be asked to remove it, and would be suspended if he or she refused to do so.
On December 16, Mary Beth Tinker, John Tinker, and Christopher Eckhardt wore the black armbands to school. They knew about the policy and were suspended. The fathers of the three students filed a lawsuit in a federal district court, asking that the suspensions be cancelled. The students’lawyers argued that the school had violated the First Amendment by taking away the students’right to freedom of expression. The school district’s lawyers urged the court to consider how controversial the Vietnam conflict was.
They argued that school officials had made the policy because they feared that the armbands would cause a serious disturbance at the school. They also argued that officials had the right to prevent students from interfering with the school’s primary purpose—education. Evidence showed that a few students had made angry remarks to the armband wearers outside the classroom. However, there had been no threats or acts of violence on school grounds. There was no sign that schoolwork had been interrupted. It was also revealed that the school district did not ban all political symbols. They allowed campaign buttons, and some students had worn the Iron Cross, considered to be a Nazi symbol.
After hearing the evidence, the court ruled that the school authorities took reasonable action to prevent disturbance of school discipline. They stated that the schools’ concerns for safety, and their responsibility to all students, limited individual students’ right to freedom of expression. The families appealed. Three years later, the case was heard by the Supreme Court, which considered these issues: Answer these questions to the best of your ability.

• Do students have a right to freedom of expression in school?
• Do school officials have the right to limit freedom of expression?
• Were the students’ First Amendment rights violated when they were suspended for wearing armbands?

USE A SEPARATE PIECE OF PAPER

Your decision:

Explanation of your group’s majority opinion:


Explanation of your group’s minority opinion:


Actual Supreme Court ruling: