Tinker V Des Moines Case Study

May it Please the Court, A seventeen-year old student at Central High School in Bristol, Virginia by the name of Suzie sent her boyfriend, Cyrus, inappropriate photographs of herself. Once the relationship ended Cyrus sent the photographs to upperclassmen boys at their high school. The boys are now noticing Suzie for ways that both Suzie as well as her parents are not okay with. To attempt to eliminate the problem Suzie’s parents included Mrs. Sheevers, the school Principal, in the problem. After Cyrus denied the accusation of sending out the photographs to other boys, Mrs. Sheevers commanded the school officer to search Cyrus’ phone for any trace of the pictures. Not finding the phone, the principal then searched Cyrus’ school locker where she found the phone with the pictures on it. In response to this Cyrus was then suspended for two weeks. Although the Virginia Statehouse Court and the Federal District Courts verdict was that the Bristol School District is not guilty, the appeal at the Supreme Court granted Cyrus a
Although students do not lose their rights as they walk through the school gates, their rights are restricted for the safety of others. The court case of Tinker v. Des Moines argues the same issue of the rights of students while on school grounds. “Because the appearance of the armbands distracted students from their work, they detracted from the ability of the school officials to perform their duties, so the school district was well within its rights to discipline the students” (OYEZ). As the armbands distracted students, the inappropriate photos of Suzie distracted upperclassmen from their educational work, which also put Suzie in an uncomfortable position depriving herself the ability to focus 100% on school work. Therefore, the principal was taking away a distraction to discipline the students which can be compared to the case of Tinker v. Des