More handpicked essays just for you.
Conclusion in the Tinker v. Des Moines case
United States and its limits of freedom of speech
Moines v tinker case study
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
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.
Name & citation of case: Urban v. Jefferson County School District R-1, 870 F. Supp. 1558 (D. CO 1994)
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
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.
The students’ parents believed the issue was still unresolved so they hired attorneys to try the case in court. The lawsuit asked for two things; the first was an injunction to stop the school from enforcing the rule prohibiting the black armbands. They had also requested nominal damages which was a small amount of money sought for the violation of the plaintiff’s rights. In this case, nominal damages equaled one dollar (Farish, 33). The first trial took place in July 1966 and was tried by only a judge. There was no jury involved (Farish, 38). Five weeks later the judge returned with his decision; the plaintiff’s request for injunction and nominal damages was denied. The Tinkers were still not satisfied with the outcome and decided to appeal to the next higher court which was the Eighth Circuit. Meanwhile back in Des Moines, Iowa the community reacted angrily to the act of the students while the trial was taking places. Mary Beth Tinker recalls red paint being thrown at the Tinker residence and threatening phone calls (Farish, 41). When the trail in the Eighth Circuit had finally concluded, it had ruled that the Tinkers had lost yet again. The case was then taken to Supreme Court after careful consideration by both sides’
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.
...as, J., J. Stewart, J. White, J. Black, and J. Harlan. "Tinker V. Des Moines Independent Community School District (No. 21)." Legal Information Institute. Cornell University Law School, 24 Feb. 1969. Web. 29 Oct. 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.
TINKER v. DES MOINES INDEPENDENT COMMUNITY SCHOOL DISTRICT. The Oyez Project at IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law. 29 October 2013. .
Although this amendment gave people the right to express their opinions, it still rests in one’s own hands as to how far they will go to exercise that right of freedom of speech. According to Roger Rosenblatt “since freedom is the way people's minds were made to be”, freedom of speech is important to speak one's mind in a way that expresses his/her opinion, even if this opinion does not seem to convince others. In my opinion, without freedom of speech, the United States would have failed to be such a powerful country as it is today. . Although your opinions might disagree with others, you still have the right to voice them. For example, Roger Rosenblatt indicated that when a basketball player for the Denver Nuggets, was suspended from the league because of his religious conventions that stopped him from playing in the league.
"Tinker V. Des Moines Independent Community School District." Supreme Court Cases: The Dynamic Court (1930-1999)(1999): N.PAG. Points of View Reference Center. Web. 29 Oct. 2013.
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