Tinker V Des Moines Case Study

Register to read the introduction… The ruling, which occurred during the Vietnam War, granted the students the right to express their political opinions as long as they did not disrupt the classroom. Their First and Fourteenth Amendment rights could not be restricted based on a “general fear of disruption,” which is what the administration argued. According to Justice Fortas, who wrote the majority opinion, the protest was a “silent, passive expression of opinion.” Though a few hostile comments had been made to the students who were wearing armbands, there had been no threats or acts of violence. Also, there had not been any findings that the armbands would substantially interfere with school operations or more importantly, harm the rights of other students. Justice Fortas concluded that the reason the school administration suspended the students for merely wearing armbands was to avoid the controversy concerning the Vietnam War. Although administration may have had fears of a disturbance, the fear was not sufficient enough to violate with the students’ First Amendment …show more content…
He thought that the Court was “endorsing permissiveness,” and that neither teachers nor students were sent into publicly funded schools to express their political views. However, his argument is invalid because the schools had already permitted students to wear political campaign buttons and even the Iron Cross, a symbol for Nazism. Students could not just be singled out for their political views. Black stated an unpopular opinion, saying that it was a "myth to say that any person has a constitutional right to say what he pleases, where he pleases, and when he pleases,” while other dissenter Justice John M. Harlan found nothing wrong with teachers regulating armbands and their suspension was for a legitimate