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Conclusion in the Tinker v. Des Moines case
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The First Amendment of the United States gives citizens the five main rights to freedom. Freedom of speech is one of the rights. If people did not have the freedom of speech there would be no way of expressing one’s self and no way to show individuality between beliefs. This Amendment becomes one of the issues in the Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District Supreme Court case that happened in December of 1969. In the case of Tinker v. Des Moines there were five students that got suspended for wearing armbands to protest the Government’s policy in Vietnam. Wearing these armbands was letting the students express their beliefs peacefully. Many people would consider that the school did not have the authority to suspend these petitioners …show more content…
Thus, they filed a complaint to the court. The complaint prayed for an injunction restraining the respondent school officials and the respondent members of the board of directors of the school district from disciplining the petitioners (“Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District (No. 21)”). At first, the District Court dismissed the complaint seeing that the school’s policy of dress code gives them the right if they are concerned with is creating a distraction from learning or if it might cause a disruption. The Fifth Circuit had referenced a similar case, though it was not followed, that contained the complaint of wearing symbolic materials and that it is not prohibited unless it interferes with the discipline in the school’s operations (“Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District (No. 21)”). The District Court was equally divided. The District Court reversed and remanded their opinion, giving it more support, and favoring in the school authorities’ side. The dissenting opinion was completely against this opinion of law and used the First and Fourteenth Amendments to their …show more content…
Though the school was only suspending these petitioners to prevent distractions and disruptions, it’s against the petitioners’ constitutional rights. The case of Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District is questioning our Freedom of Speech and national equality in schools. This leaves America with the question: how far do constitutional rights given to citizens of America stretch?
Works Cited
Kelly, Martin. "Tinker V. Des Moines." American History. About.com, n.d. Web. 13 Nov. 2013.
Everyone in America, from adults to students have freedom of speech. This freedom is provided by the first amendment. In the case Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier, students fights for the freedom of speech in their school newspaper. One side of the case was three students who thought their free speech was violated and the other side was the principal defending the school. After the court's decision, this case had a big impact on the school and many other people. Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier talks about students not giving up their freedom of speech in a school setting.
The district court found the disruptive-conduct rule unconstitutionally vague and broad, and that withdrawal of the student's name from the graduation speaker's list violated the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment because the rule did not mention such removal as a likely sanction. The court made the case that nothing in the Constitution forbids the states from insisting that certain forms of expression are unfitting and subject to sanctions. (Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District, 1969) The court affirmed that students do not "shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate."(Tinker) If the student had given the same speech off the school premises, he would not have been penalized because government officials found his language inappropriate.
"Summary of the Decision." Landmark Cases Of The U.S Supreme Court. Street Law, Inc, n.d. Web. 1 Nov. 2013. .
Name & citation of case: Urban v. Jefferson County School District R-1, 870 F. Supp. 1558 (D. CO 1994)
Student court cases against schools, or vice versa, are not as uncommon as they may seem. Tinker v. Des Moines was a court case that ended in 1969 regarding students protesting the Vietnam War. The three students involved in the trial wore black armbands to school, which was prohibited, and were suspended. Since the students felt that their First Amendment right was abused by the school therefore they took the issue to a local court, then eventually the Supreme Court. The case has left a mark on First Amendment rights for students since then. The Tinker v. Des Moines court case impacted the United States by questioning the First Amendment in public schools, spreading awareness of student rights, and by challenging future court cases using
20 May 2014. This article shows a majority of the cases that are relevant to the topic and research questions; it clearly shows the articles that are involved with public schools and how and what they did. It helps answer that research question because it shows that some of the schools are capable of bypassing the system, but sometimes get overturned. Paulson, Ken. A.
The National Center For Public Research. “Brown v Board of Education, 347 U.S. 483 (1954) (USSC+).” Supreme Court of The United States. 1982 .
The Amendment I of the Bill of Rights is often called “the freedom of speech.” It provides a multitude of freedoms: of religion, of speech, of the press, to peacefully assemble, to petition the government. Religious freedom is vitally important to this day because it eliminates the problem of religious conflicts. Historically, many people died for their beliefs because their government only allowed and permitted one religion. T...
Hall, K. (2002, September 13). Free speech on public college campuses overview. Retrieved from http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/free-speech-on-public-college-campuses
Herbeck, Tedford (2007). Boston College: Freedom of Speech in the United States (fifth edition) Cohen vs. California 403 U.S. 15 Retrieved on March 2, 2008 from http://www.bc.edu/bc_org/avp/cas/comm/free_speech/cohen.html
Tinker v. Des Moines. (n.d.). Tinker v. Des Moines. Retrieved May 5, 2014, from http://cases.laws.com/tinker-v-des-moines
"Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School Dist." Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School Dist. N.p., 12 Nov. 1968. Web. 10 Nov. 2013.
We, all, have the opportunity to voice our opinion on subjects that matter to us. The First Amendment grants us freedom of speech and expression. However, this was not provided to all students in 1968. During this time, there were three students in Des Moines, Iowa, who wore black armbands to school. These armbands were a symbol of protest against the United States involvement in the Vietnam War. After the Des Moines School District heard about this plan, they instituted a policy banning the wearing of armbands, leading to the suspension of students. A lawsuit has been filed against the Des Moines School District, stating how this principal goes against the students’ First Amendment rights. Thus, in the Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District case, Justice Abe Fortes determined the policy to ban armbands is against the students’ First Amendment rights. Yet, Justice Hugo Black dissented with this decision, determining the principal is permissible under the First Amendment.
Justice Hugo Black dissented and feared that the Court’s ruling would cause more revolutionary actions from students. However, Justice Fortas addressed this potential outcome. He says, “Certainly where there is no finding and no showing that engaging in the forbidden conduct would "materially and substantially interfere with the requirements of appropriate discipline in the operation of the school," the prohibition cannot be sustained.Burnside v. Byars, supra at 749.” The school’s ban of the armbands could not be upheld because the expression had not caused any harm. If the students underwent another expression, the school would still have the power to make a decision. If their actions were disruptive, the school would still have the power to limit these actions. The students’ rights are still protected, and the school still has the authority to operate the
Since the foundation of the United States after a harsh split from Britain, almost 200 years later, an issue that could claim the founding grounds for the country is now being challenged by educators, high-ranking officials, and other countries. Though it is being challenged, many libertarians, democrats, and free-speech thinkers hold the claim that censorship violates our so-called unalienable rights, as it has been proven throughout many court cases. Censorship in the United States is detrimental because it has drastically and negatively altered many significant events.