Tinker vs. Des Moines

            Disagreeing with these opinions the group took their case to the U.S. Supreme Court. The court agreed to hear the case on November 12th 1968. The question was do the first amendment right of free speech extend to symbolic speech, or use of objects to express a point, by students in public schools. And, if so, in what circumstances is that symbolic speech protected. The Supreme Court voted 7 to 2 in favor of the tinkers.

             The held that the first amendment right of free speech applied to public schools. The wearing of an armband to express a point is legal under the right to free speech in the first amendment. The Supreme Court used Examples from previous cases, Schenck vs. United States and Thornhill vs. Alabama, and described symbolic speech. They Court accepted the use of black armbands as symbolic speech. The use of armbands was not going to cause a disturbance of discipline by those wearing a band. Although there wear a few threats made to some students wearing the bands, no violence erupted from the use of the armbands. Other students were wearing similar things like buttons, crosses, etc, in order to protests their issues. The court recognized that the use of other means of protest was not prohibited.

            The first amendment rights are allowed to students in a school environment, and no person releases their rights upon entering a school. In order for a school official to go against a student’s rights, they would have to give constitutional information for a specific right in the classroom. This was not expressed by the Des Moines area school officials. The act done by those officials involved was not permissible by the first and fourteenth amendment.

            Under the Fourteenth amendment people are now protected from the states. Justice Abe Fortas, who wrote the majority opinion, said that the issue in this case was “based upon an urgent wish to avoid the controversy which might result from the expression, even by the silent symbol of armbands, of opposition to this Nation’s part in the Conflagration on Vietnam.” Also finding the use of an armband did not cause a disruption, then the constitution protected this action. In conclusion the use of an armband to express a point is legal and that the action done by school officials was not permitted by the constitution.