Tinker Vs. Des Moines

John Tinker, his sister Mary Beth, and a friend wore black armbands to protest the Vietnam War.

(1965)

They were immediately sent home by the principal! Their school had established a policy permitting students to wear several political symbols, but had excluded armbands protesting the Vietnam War.

Their fathers sued.

The District Court ruled that the school had not violated the Constitution. The Court of Appeals agreed with the lower court, so the Tinkers appealed to the Supreme Court.

In a 7-2 decision, the Supreme Court ruled that the students had the right to wear armbands to school to protest the Vietnam War.

Justice Abe Fortas wrote for the majority. He first emphasized that students have First Amendment rights: “It can hardly be argued that either students or teachers shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate.”