(855) 4-ESSAYS

Type a new keyword(s) and press Enter to search

Tinker v. Des Moines

            I found this case interesting because of the First Amendment aspect of the case. Des Moines all started in 1969 when 60 students at a High School in Des Moines, Indiana planned to wear black armbands to school to mourn for the dead in the Vietnam war. The principle heard about this through an unpublished school newspaper article. He immediately posted a ban on the armbands. Despite their protests of this only 12 of the 60 students wore the armbands, and 5 of them were suspended until they removed the armbands. The students and their parents were outraged by this. They felt that their right to free speech had been violated. So instead of excepting this as a defeat they hired a lawyer who strongly supported their case named Craig Sawyer. After numerous attempts to change the school boards ban on the armbands they took their case to a federal court. They lost in the first trial, but then appealed to the Supreme court and won.
             I feel as though the students were in the right because the armbands were protected by the first amendment. They were not inciting violence, but quietly protesting the Viet Nam war. The armbands did not prevent other students from learning. They weren't flashy, distracting, or inappropriate They were simple, small, and hardly even noticeable. Therefore by suspending the students the school officials were taking the students right to free speech away. I also feel as though the school officials had broken the law by depriving the students of their 1st and 14th amendment. The moment that they placed a ban on the armbands they had taken the students right away, and by making a law that took their rights away the had deprived the students of their 1st and 14th amendment. .
             I feel the school was wrong to put a ban on all armbands just because of one situation. The school brought more attention to the issue than it would have by letting the students quietly wear the black armbands.


Essays Related to Tinker v. Des Moines

1. The Case of Tinker Vs. Des Moines

... must be free to express themselves without unfair limits and the Tinker vs. Des Moines cases affirmed the rights of students to express themselves and the 1st Amendment prohibits laws that limit free expression. The case of Tinker v. Des Monies was rather a simple one. The case of whether the ... lawsuit in US District Court. (www.streetlaw, Inc , 2010). Even though most of all of Supreme Court case from the time of Tinker V. Des Monies case have restricted the student rights of expression, student should express themselves freely as the 1st Amendment prohibits laws that limit free expre...

  • Word Count: 1275
  • Approx Pages: 5
  • Grade Level: High School

2. Tinker vs Des Moines

Factual Background In the December of 1965 three students decided to express their view on the Vietnam war. John and Mary Beth Tinker, joined by Christopher Eckhardt wanted to wear black arm bands to show that they were against the war. The school learned of the idea the they banned arm bands. Fully ... . The principles did the right thing by suspending then expelling the students because the students were going to be cause harm to the school. Conclusion In conclusion, the principles of Des Moines school district were not out of line by suspending the students. The court just has to decide wh...

  • Word Count: 347
  • Approx Pages: 1
  • Grade Level: High School

3. School and Cyberbullying

... do not happen during school hours, the reality is that cyber bullying affects a school's functionality by distracting students and disturbing their learning. According to the supreme court cases of Tinker V. Des Moines and Morse V. Fredrick, schools are allowed to determine the appropriateness of speech and the students' freedom of speech cannot infringe on the rights of other students' and cannot disrupt ... daily operations of a school. In Landmark Cases of the Supreme Court of the United States Streetlaw.org's article "Student Speech, Symbolic Speech", the Supreme Court Case of Tinke...

  • Word Count: 712
  • Approx Pages: 3
  • Has Bibliography

4. Supreme Court Cases Concerning Constitutional Civil Libertie

... Supreme Court had made many decisions that expanded individual rights. Two of some of the most popular cases, Tinker v. Des Moines School District and Mapp v. Ohio, dealt with the 1st , 4th , & 14th Amendments. In 1969, John Tinker, who was 15 years old, his sister Mary Beth Tinker, 13 years old, and Christopher Echardt, 16 years old, decided along with their parents to protest against U.S. ... but here the principals lacked justification for imposing any such limits. The principals had failed to show that the forbidden conduct would substantially interfere with appropriate school disci...

  • Word Count: 728
  • Approx Pages: 3
  • Grade Level: High School

5. The Preamble and Govermental Effectiveness

... by the First Amendment is the freedom of speech. Free speech has been battled in the courtrooms of America for more than a century. For example, in the infamous case of Tinker v. Des Moines ISD, three high school students wished to protest the Vietnam War by wearing black armbands to school. After refusing to remove the armbands, the three students were suspended by a school ... that "in our Nation's legislative halls there are rules prohibiting the use of expressions offensive to other participants in the debate." This case limited the student rights gained in the Tinker ruling. Anothe...

  • Word Count: 1639
  • Approx Pages: 7
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

6. What Is The Bill Of Rights

... the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances. This has been tested time and time again. In the supreme court case Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District (1969) Students were suspended for wearing black armbands protesting the police action in Vietnam. School stated that it disrupted the environment of education, but the supreme ... ...

  • Word Count: 871
  • Approx Pages: 3

7. School Uniforms

... their own identity and explore who they are. Two recent court cases that involved the First Amendment may help decide that it's a very important issue. In the Landmark case, Tinker vs. Des Moines Independent Community School District (1969), the Supreme Court empathetically asserted that school students do not "shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate" ( Lieberman ... ...

  • Word Count: 1702
  • Approx Pages: 7

8. School Uniforms

... . Background Information Legislative History: Federal Legislation: Before clothes, in the 60s, hair length was a major issue. However, in 1965, school dress first became a federal issue when the Supreme Court, in Tinker v. Des Moines, ruled that school districts could not outlaw the wearing of black armbands used to signify opposition to the Vietnam War. Essentially, the court upheld the position that school dress is ... ...

  • Word Count: 2447
  • Approx Pages: 10
  • Has Bibliography

9. Prayer in School

... support. They fight that the constitutional rights of freedom of speech does not apply at school since they could infringe on other's rights. The Supreme Court supported this idea in Tinker v. Des Moines Independent School District with the phrase, "Students [do not] shed their constitutional rights . at the schoolhouse gate" (Baik 1). When Michael Chandler, a vice principal, and his son challenged the state of ... ...

  • Word Count: 1647
  • Approx Pages: 7
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: High School

Got a writing question? Ask our professional writer!
Submit My Question