This case all started with a meeting at Christopher Echardt’s house to do a silent protest of the Vietnam war. The “Tinker kids” decided the wear two-inch-wide black armbands to school for the protest. Before the students could wear their armbands, the principals of the Des Moines School District found out about what they were planning and fearing that the armbands would provoke disturbances, they resolved that all students…
Petitioners, three public school pupils, in Des Moines, Iowa were suspended from school for violating a school board (respondents) policy of banning the wearing of armbands. The armbands represented the protest of Government policy in Vietnam. The District Court dismissed the complaint. On appeal, the Eight Circuit Court was equally divided, therefore affirmed the decision of the District Court. Writ of certiorari was granted and reversed and remanded the decision of the Eight Circuit Court.…
The Tinker vs Des Moines case is a land-mark case in upholding the rights of school children, and their freedom to express their opinions and views. Many have heard of the case, while others are unaware of its existence. The real conflict however is whether the defendants, John and Mary Beth Tinker were right or wrong. In December of 1965, the Tinker siblings decided to wear black armbands with peace signs on them to protest America’s involvement in the Vietnam War. After getting suspended from school, The Tinkers brought the case to the U.S. District Court, which raised the question: Were their rights violated? The answer is obvious. The school was incorrect in their actions, and the Tinkers rights were impeded upon because they did not cause…
I, _______, agree that school officials should be able to remove student publications when they believe material is unsuitable for younger students, or for reasons it could possibly disrupt the educational curriculum. If students are allowed "freedom of speech" other students could be slandered indirectly such as what occured in this case or fights may ensue due to disagreements. Yes, we as Americans have rights to speak our minds freely, but most students are minors and are under the supervision of the school. The school has the right to control what is allowed within its walls and must moniter students' doings in order to ensure the safety and eduaction of all students.…
Before Tinker v. Des Moines the opinions students could and couldn’t voice was decided on by the schools. This changed when three students, John Tinker, Mary Beth Tinker and, Christopher Eckhardt decided to voice their opinions on the Vietnam War by wearing black arm bands (“Tinker V. Des Moines”1). The School system demanded the students to take off their arm bands or they would be suspended. The students refused to take them off didn’t attend school till after their winter break (“Tinker v. Des Moines” 1). John Tinker’s father thought this was unfair that their children were singled out for wearing armbands while other students were allowed to wear other…
The school district appealed the decision, arguing that the speech had a disruptive effect on the educational process. The school district said it had an interest in protecting an audience of minors from indecent speech in the school. The school board believed it had the right to control language that was used during a school-sponsored activity. The Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court.…
Does taking the right for students to wear armbands to a public school violate students’ freedom of speech protections from the First Amendment? Did the…
The 1st Amendment of the Bill of Rights in the Constitution of the United States of America states as follows: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances”. The Supreme Court case Tinker v. Des Moines (1969) is a landmark case that established whether or not students leave their 1st Amendment rights at the school gate. In December 1965, Mary Beth Tinker, a 13-year-old junior high student, gathered a group of students and decided to wear black wristbands that protested the Vietnam War. When asked to take the wristbands…
11). By the start of the protest over 2,000 American soldiers had been brought home in caskets (Collins. 270) They planned to wear black armbands from December 16th to New Year's Eve, and fast or refuse to eat on the 16th and New Year's Eve (Brannen). In total, five of the twelve students who wore armbands were suspended because they refused to remove them, as they were against a new school rule created by the board the day before the protest (Collins. 272). The school board learned about the protest through a school newspaper article that they barred from being published in hopes no one would hear of it (Collins. 271). The new rule stated that all students wearing armbands would be asked to remove them and any students who did not comply were to be suspended until they returned without the armband (Brannen). Mary, John, and Christopher were the only students to sue the school board (Rapport. 7). During the lawsuit against the school district Mary, John, and Christopher asked ICLU (Iowa Civil Liberties Union) to represent them in court (Rapport. 18). The first trial in the Des Moines Federal District Court was on July 25, 1966 (Rapport. 31). John Tinker was the first witness of the trial (Rapport. 36). When the district court dismissed the lawsuit, the federal court affirmed the district court's ruling, and only then did the tinkers and eckhardts appeal the case to the supreme court (Brannen). Finally the supreme court ruled in the student's favor with seven justices for the students and two against on February 24, 1969 (Brannen). The time it took to get the final decision from the Supreme Court was over three years, for a case that would have a lasting affect on constitutional law…
The Tinker Standard describes the right of a student has to exercise freedom of speech through symbolic gestures. It was first conceived when students Mary Beth Tinker and John Tinker began wearing black armbands with the “peace” symbol as a form of passive protest against the war in Vietnam, a very controversial topic at the time. When the staff of the school they attended suspended them for wearing the armbands, on the grounds that they were detrimental to student’s learning, the pair along with Christopher Eckhart, one of the other three students to be suspended for wearing the arm bands, filed a complaint against the school for impeding on their 1st Amendment Right, the right to freedom of speech. Not satisfied with the District Court’s decision condoning the school’s actions, they appealed to the United States Supreme Court where the decision was overturned and Tinker Standard was established.…
December 1965, a group of students met at Christopher Eckhardt's home and discussed that they wanted to show support for the truce in the vietnam war. They decided they would wear armbands to school to support it, but the principles of the Des Moines school found out about their plan. A new rule in school was passed. That all students wearing any armband would be asked to remove it, and if they refused, they would be suspended. On the 16th of December, Mary Beth Tinker and Christopher Eckhardt both wore armbands to school, were asked to remove the armbands, and when they refused, they were send home. The next day, John Tinker had the same situation and and resulted the same way. In response to the suspension, the students sued the school district…
2. In favor of the Tinker children, it could be argued that of course since they were American citizens attending an American school, they are entitled to their rights to the same extent that a non-minor not in school is. Because it has been ruled the picketing, a form of protest, is a form of symbolic speech, and wearing these black armbands is also a form of protest, that it should be protected under the First Amendment as well. This is compounded by the Fourteenth Amendment, which extends Freedom of Speech to governments, such as school systems.…
The basis of this court case was to determine whether or not wearing armbands in an educational setting is protected under Freedom of Speech. Justice Abe Fortas was against the prohibiting of armbands in school because it was protected by the First Amendment. However, Justice Hugo Black was for the prohibiting of armbands because he did not believe that people could express their opinions or beliefs anywhere or any time.…
Over 200 years after the Constitution was drafted and it is still being revised. The United States is still evolving and figuring out how to keep the citizens safe and equal under the law. A reoccurring controversial topic is the first amendment in the Constitution. What exactly is protected under the Freedom of Speech? Freedom of Expression allows for an American citizen to have the right to free speech and a free press. Expressions include more than just words, they compromise of clothing, gestures, movements, and other expressive nonverbal conduct. The controversial part is exactly what can a citizen say and express? The simple answer is that a citizen can say what they like as long as it doesn’t impose on another citizen’s safety. In 1969, students wore black armbands to show their opposition towards the Vietnam War. The school district the students belonged to was not fond of the idea and tried to ban it. In retaliation the students brought the case to court. The verdict was that the students were protected under the first amendment to wear their armbands, even if it went against the popular belief. This case was to be known as Tinker v. Des Moines School District. Just twenty years later and another incident occurs, can flags be burnt? According to the Supreme Court, any state law that forbids the burning of the American flag as a peaceful protest also violated…
The first amendment in the US constitution states that Congress shall “make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting thereof.” A metaphoric wall has always existed between the church and state, according to Thomas Jefferson in 1947 (McCarthy, Martha).That wall has been in the center of many court cases in the Supreme Court linked to public schools. The public school setting has always been a major area of controversy concerning the separation of church and state. Albeit with some exceptions, the separation of church and state should not take place in public schools.…