Why was the US Supreme Court case Tinker v Des Moines so significant?

Answer 1

The US Supreme Court voted 7-2 in favor of the students (Tinker), holding the students' political expression was protected by the First Amendment, and did not constitute a disruption or threat to the school environment.

Explanation

Tinker v. Des Moines involved three students who were suspended from school for wearing black armband as a passive protest against the United States' involvement in Viet Nam. The students weren't disruptive, and their behavior didn't interfere with the school's educational mission or interfere with other people's rights. They were punished simply because the school disapproved of their expression of opinion. (Oddly, the same school permitted students to wear jewelry displaying Nazi symbols.)

The Court held that First Amendment protection adhered in school because the Fourteenth Amendment selectively applied the Bill of Rights to the states, and were not abandoned in the school environment. "First Amendment rights, applied in light of the special characteristics of the school environment, are available to teachers and students. It can hardly be argued that either students or teachers shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate."

The Supreme Court supported students' right to the expression of opinion, even controversial opinion, in the school environment, but did not abrogate the school's right to maintain appropriate order and discipline.

Later Decisions

Later Supreme Court decisions regarding students' First Amendment free speech have upheld the ability of the schools to place limitations on lewd or vulgar speech, to discipline students for creating displays that reference illegal drugs, and to place limits on the content of school newspapers, provided the newspapers weren't intentionally designed as a forum for the free expression of student opinion.

Case Citation:

Tinker v. Des Moines, 393 US 503 (1969)

For more information on this topic, see Related Questions, below.

Answer 2

Tinker was a First Amendment case challenging the school district's right to make policies restricting students' and teachers' expression of free speech in school. The Court held the Fourteenth Amendment made the First Amendment applicable to the states, and determined students had a right to express their opinions in a non-disruptive manner. The 7-2 vote favored the Petitioner, Tinker.

Explanation

Tinker v. Des Moines involved three students who were suspended from school for wearing black armband as a passive protest against the United States' involvement in Viet Nam. The students weren't disruptive, and their behavior didn't interfere with the school's educational mission or interfere with other people's rights. They were punished simply because the school disapproved of their expression of opinion. (Oddly, the same school permitted students to wear jewelry displaying Nazi symbols.)

The Court held that First Amendment protection adhered in school because the Fourteenth Amendment selectively applied the Bill of Rights to the states, and were not abandoned in the school environment. "First Amendment rights, applied in light of the special characteristics of the school environment, are available to teachers and students. It can hardly be argued that either students or teachers shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate."

The Supreme Court supported students' right to the expression of opinion, even controversial opinion, in the school environment, but did not abrogate the school's right to maintain appropriate order and discipline.

"On the other hand, the Court has repeatedly emphasized the need for affirming the comprehensive authority of the States and of school officials, consistent with fundamental constitutional safeguards, to prescribe and control conduct in the schools. See Epperson v. Arkansas, supra, at 104;Meyer v. Nebraska, supra, at 402. Our problem lies in the area where students in the exercise of First Amendment rights collide with the rules of the school authorities."

and

"The school officials banned and sought to punish petitioners for a silent, passive expression of opinion, unaccompanied by any disorder or disturbance on the part of petitioners. There is here no evidence whatever of petitioners' interference, actual or nascent, with the schools' work or of collision with the rights of other students to be secure and to be let alone. Accordingly, this case does not concern speech or action that intrudes upon the work of the schools or the rights of other students."

Tinker affirmed the right of students to express their opinions and admonishes, "state-operated schools may not be enclaves of totalitarianism." Schools cannot prevent students from exercising their First Amendment rights simply because they want to avoid the discomfort and unpleasantness that always accompany an unpopular viewpoint.

The US Supreme Court voted 7-2 in favor of the students (Tinker), holding the students' political expression was protected by the First Amendment, and did not constitute a disruption or threat to the school environment.

Case Citation:

Tinker v. Des Moines, 393 US 503 (1969)

For information, see Related Questions, below.

Answer 3

Tinker v. Des Moines was a First Amendment case challenging the school district's right to make policies restricting students' and teachers' expression of free speech in school. The Court held the Fourteenth Amendment made the First Amendment applicable to the states, and determined students had a right to express their opinions in a non-disruptive manner. The 7-2 vote favored the Petitioner, Tinker.

Subsequent cases have granted the schools more leeway in regulating speech.

Case Citation:

Tinker v. Des Moines, 393 US 503 (1969)

Answer 4

In Tinker v. Des Moines, the students' (Tinker) interest in expressing their opinion of the Vietnam War by wearing black armbands under protection of the First Amendment right to free speech was in direct conflict with the Des Moines, Iowa, school district's interest in preventing disruption in response to the controversial nature of protesting the War.

Case Citation:

Tinker v. Des Moines, 393 US 503 (1969)

Answer 5

Two justices, Hugo Black and John Marshall Harlan II, wrote independent dissenting opinions in Tinker.

Justice Black disagreed with the Court's decision to allow students and teachers to use the schools as a platform for the expression of free speech, and believed policy matters should be left to school administration. Black cited the recent decision in Cox v. Louisiana, 379 US 536 (1965), in which the Court held the First Amendment right to exercise free speech was not absolute and "[does] not mean that everyone with opinions or beliefs to express may address a group at any public place and at any time."

According to Justice Black, the First Amendment had two components: the freedom to believe, and the freedom to act. He asserted the freedom to believe was absolute, but reminded the Court that it had historically made exceptions to the freedom to act for good cause. In this case, "good cause" involved the right of the schools to maintain discipline and control, and not cede this power to the students.

Justice Harlan believed the schools should have "the widest authority" to promulgate their own rules, provided the rules were motivated by legitimate reasons, and held the burden should be on the Petitioner (Tinker) to demonstrate the Respondent (Des Moines ISD) had a "desire to prohibit the expression of an unpopular point of view, while permitting expression of the dominant opinion," rather than maintain order. In his view, the school had acted in good faith and should prevail.

Case Citation:

Tinker v. Des Moines, 393 US 503 (1969)

Answer 6

Answer 7

The Vietnam War