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A Case Of Tinker V. Des Moines Independent Community School District

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In the case of Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District, specific interpretations of the First Amendment and Fourteenth Amendment were applied in reaching a decision by the Supreme Court. On December 16, 1945, three public school students attended school in the Des Moines Independent Community School District wearing black armbands in protest of the Vietnam War. The school board of this district had written a policy prohibiting this just 2 days before after hearing that there could be possible protests. The school board forbade any students to protest the Vietnam War in fear that this would disrupt the school day. In response to their wearing of the black armbands, these three students were suspended. This case eventually made it to the Supreme Court where the majority of the justices held that the students were protected by the first and fourteenth amendments in their wearing of the black armbands to protest the Vietnam War at …show more content…

Justice Fortas explained the majority opinion of the Supreme Court in the case of Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District. One of the main points Justice Fortas maintained was that the right of freedom of speech extends onto the school grounds. Fortas explained that wearing a black armband to school did not cause disruptions to the learning in the school and is a pure form of free speech that is protected in the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment. Fortas continued to explain that the wearing of the black armbands to school is protected under the Fourteen Amendment. This amendment prevents interference in the liberties of teachers, students and parents. Because the wearing of the black armbands did not interfere or disrupt the school day of the students, the majority ruled that the students should not have been suspended. By punishing these students, the Des Moines Independent Community School District violated the first amendment and fourteen amendment rights of these

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