Preview

Legal Brief for Tinker V. Des Moines (1969)

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
394 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Legal Brief for Tinker V. Des Moines (1969)
Facts: In 1965 a group of individuals in Des Moines held a meeting to protest the Vietnam War. The group decided to fast and wear armbands as a sign of there disapproval. The principals of the Des Moines schools heard of the armband protest and adopted a policy banning any student from wearing the armbands at school. Any student caught wearing the armband at school would be asked to remove it, and if he refused he would be suspended until he returned without the armband. John Tinker and several other students decided to wear the black armbands to school and in return they were sent home until they would come back without the armband. The students did not return back to school until after New Years day. The complaint was filed in the United States District Court in which was dismissed due to the constitutional authority of the school to prevent disturbances.

Issue: The argument was whether the black armband was a disturbance at school. Would people find the armband offensive and did the school ban the students' right of free expression? The Court of Appeals considered the case and recognized that the black armbands were worn merely for expression. This was considered a type of symbolic expression written in the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment.

Decision of the Court: The court found that the banning of a silent expression of opinion was unconstitutional. The students did not disrupt or intruded on the schools affairs. Furthermore, the court did not express any opinion for the form of relief for the plaintiff. They decided to reverse the ruling and send it back to the lower court for nominal damage ruling.

Reasoning of the Court: The actions that the school made was reasonable but the fear of disturbance is not enough to justify the banning of the black armbands. The recorded showed that students in some schools wore buttons relating to the national political campaigns which was not included in the policy. The constitution prohibits the

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Better Essays

    Against School Uniforms

    • 1754 Words
    • 8 Pages

    In Jan. 2000, the American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina, which opposes school uniforms, represented a nine year-old student who was suspended twice for his refusal to wear a school uniform because of his family’s religious beliefs. (“Should Students Have to Wear School Uniforms?") The school later agreed to amend school uniform policy to allow for religious reasons. In May 2008, a three-judge panel of the US Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 in Jacobs v. Clark County School District that the mandatory school uniform policy introduced by the Nevada district is constitutional. An 11th grade student and her parents had sued the district for refusing to allow her to wear a shirt displaying a message presenting her religious beliefs. The court ruled that the district's uniform policy was not restricting any one viewpoint in particular, and that therefore the policy was "content neutral" and not an infringement of "pure speech."(“Should Students Have to Wear School Uniforms?")…

    • 1754 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    armbands was a silent form of expression and that students do not have to give…

    • 1037 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Tinker vs. Des Moine

    • 1106 Words
    • 5 Pages

    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…

    • 1106 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Goss V Lopez Brief

    • 287 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Public school students from Columbus, Ohio brought this suit. They claimed that their constitutional right to due process was violated. The students were suspended without hearing prior to their suspension. They were suspended for destroying school property but principals can only suspend up to 10 days or expel them. If suspended they must notify parents without 24 hours and give the reasons. Students may appeal to the board of education.…

    • 287 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Del Mos

    • 532 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The students were suspended from school for showing their support of the anti-war movement. Wearing the armbands…

    • 532 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Tinker V Des Moines Case

    • 769 Words
    • 4 Pages

    In December of 1965, John Tinker, his sister Mary-Beth, and Christopher Eckhardt, who all attended public school in Des Moines, wanted to publicize their anti-war position by wearing black armbands to school to support a truce until the holidays were over. The school district learned of their plans and planned to suspend anyone who refused to remove their armband. Although the students were aware of the policy the administration created, they arrived to school wearing the black armbands days later, and were promptly sent home and suspended. They did not return to school until after the holidays, which was when their planned protest expired. The three teenagers involved in the protests filed a Civil Rights lawsuit in a federal court through their fathers. They issued the court an injunction, or an authoritative warning, that would bar the school system from disciplining the students as they did by suspending them. The district court sided with the school board, however, concluding that “the schools had acted reasonably to prevent a disturbance of school discipline, and the students brought their cases over to the Supreme Court.…

    • 769 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Tinker V. Des Moines

    • 337 Words
    • 2 Pages

    FACTS John Tinker was 15 years old who grew up with his sister Mary Beth Tinker, 13 years old, and brother Christopher Echardt, 16. They decided to follow their parents who were protesting the Vietnam War by wearing black armbands to their Des Moines schools during the holiday season of Christmas and New Years. Once the word was out about the protests, the principals of the Des Moines school district decided that all students wearing armbands be asked to remove them or face suspension. The children of course were then asked upon entering school, which they refused. When they did refuse, they were suspended until after New Years Day. The Tinkers filed a suit in the U.S. District Court to stop the school principals from enforcing the rule in the future.…

    • 337 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Public schools across the United States have been dealing with the issue of dress codes. As of 2008, twenty-two U.S. states specifically authorized schools to institute dress codes or uniform policies (8). School boards may generally create and enforce dress code, but they must do so without violating students’ constitutional law (9). Schools are finding difficulty in enforcing their dress code among students. Parents feel as if the schools dress codes are condoning their students for expressing themselves and say that it is unconstitutional and wrong. Parents, students, and administrators all have the idea of uniforms in the back of their mind but, they will have to give up things to have them. Though a dress code for high schools students is appropriate, uniforms would be a better option.…

    • 1456 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Supreme Court first found in the Reid case that the rule of common law did not apply to the Reid case. This is because the state of Virginia had already passed a statute stating that the evidence would not be competent in criminal cases, only in civil cases. The ruling goes on to state that the law that should be followed in federal criminal cases should follow the statutes and laws already set down by the states in which the trial by jury is taking place.…

    • 636 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Some people believe that what Des Moines did about the armbands was necessary for the greater good of the students but they were just violating the student’s rights. In an article about the tinker case Judge Abe Fortas wrote, they do not "shed their constitutional rights at the school house gate" (Students’ Right to Freedom of Speech). Just because a student is in school shouldn’t mean that he/she should have to give up their constitutional rights as a citizen of the United…

    • 488 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    To illustrate, according to Des Moines Independent School District that took place in 1969, “John and Mary Beth Tinker and their friend Chris Eckhardt wore black armbands to school in Des Moines, Iowa, to protest the war in Vietnam. School officials told them to remove the armbands, and when they refused they were suspended… The Supreme Court sided with the students. Students and teachers don’t ‘shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate,’” (Jacobs). This proves how the right to protest is at risk in our society because the students were simply protesting the war in Vietnam peacefully, but the school said they couldn’t when they were allowed to do so. Also, the right to protest is at risk, according to Edwards v. South Carolina, “petitioners, all of whom were black, organized a march to the South Carolina State House grounds… The march was peaceful, did not block pedestrian or vehicular traffic, and was conducted in an orderly fashion on public property; a group of approximately thirty police officers confronted the group and ordered its members to disperse or to submit to arrest… The Court held that the arrests and convictions violated the rights of the marchers” (Oyez). This shows how the right to protest is at risk in our society because as stated above, the protesters held a peaceful protest, which was completely legal, but were arrested for no reason which violated their rights to…

    • 1174 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Legal background: The parents of the Tinker and Eckardt with the help of the ACLU filed suit in U.S. District Court. The Court upheld the decision of the Des Moines school board and a tie vote in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit forcing the Tinkers and Eckhardts to appeal to the Supreme Court directly.…

    • 411 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In 1969 students John F. Tinker, Mary Beth Tinker, Hope Tinker, Paul Tinker and Christopher Eckhardt went to school wearing black armbands. The armbands were to symbolize their protest against the Vietnam War. The principal of their school heard of their plan and immediately created a policy stating any student wearing the armbands would be asked to remove them. If any students violated the policy they would be suspended until they agree to comply. The students violated the policy and were suspended. A law suit by the children’s’ families was filed against the school for violated the children’s first Amendment right. This created the question- is creating a dress code or mandating school uniforms a violation of a child’s freedom of speech…

    • 625 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Supreme Court decision is an example of separation of power. It displays the governments’ power over free speech and its definition of what constitutes free speech and what does not. The free speech doesn’t rely on the opinion of the American government, but that lies in facts and principles. This case comes to correct and to reverse many cases, including the Redskin Baseball cases. The decision will set the tone for future cases and how they are dealt…

    • 831 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    J Qubec

    • 1572 Words
    • 7 Pages

    in the motion, should school uniforms be banned, i greatly disagree on that. That’s a very big shame on their side. School uniforms must not be banned because uniform is one of the sign which the school prepared for their students to be categorized by other peoples. We all know, that their parents are hard working for them to educate their children in school that requires uniform. we also have to think about them. Another one is, when a student’s wear their uniforms, it’s a sign of formality, because these uniforms are clothes that represent their school and success.…

    • 1572 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays