Tinker

Ben McCartney

Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District

Argued Tuesday, November 12, 1968 Decided Monday, February 24, 1969

Background: John Tinker, his sister, a friend, and their parents decided to wear black armbands in their schools to protest the Vietnam War during the holiday season. The school district determined the wearing of the armbands to be a threat to the peace of the school district and asked the students to take them off lest they be suspended. The students refused and were suspended until after New Year's Day.

Question: Is the wearing of the black armbands protected by the First Amendment right of free speech?

The Supreme Court decided 7-2 in favor of Tinker citing the First Amendment rights to free speech, press, and assembly. The wearing of the armbands was a form of speech and thus protected by the First Amendment. Although the freedom of speech may be abridged in a school environment under dangerous circumstances, the school district failed to produce substantial evidence that the armbands were disrupting the safety of the schools.

Danielle Catalan

**Tinker v Des Moines Independent Community School District (1969)**

**Background:** 3 siblings of the Tinker family decided to wear black armbands to school to protest the Vietnam War. The school asked the students to remove their armbands to prevent disturbances from occurring. The students refused because they said that being forced to remove the armbands would be a violation of the first amendment. The students were then suspended.

**Question:** Was the first amendment, particularly their freedom of expression, violated when the principals of Des Moines Independent Community School District asked the Tinker children to remove their black armbands?

**Supreme Court Ruling and Rationale:** The Supreme Court ruled 7-to-2 in favor of the Tinker children. Although schools can imply limitations on the freedom of expression, the Court stated that because the principals had failed to show how the armbands would cause disturbances in the school, the armbands were covered by the first amendment.