Tinker vs' Des Moines

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Tinker vs. Des Moines

• Alicia, Julia, and Lauren

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1.) Checks and Balances

• In the system of Checks and Balances, the Supreme
  Court can deem laws made by Congress and actions
  made by the President Unconstitutional.

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2.) Civil Liberties

• The basic rights of citizens (i.e. freedom of
  speech, press, assembly, religion right to fair
  trial, jury, etc.)

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3.) Justice Earl Warren

• Chief Justice of the Supreme Court from 1953-1969
• Called Warren Court
• Cases he helped decide safeguarded individual
  rights and the rights of the accused.

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4.) The Circumstances

• Fifteen year old John Tinker and 13 year old Mary
  Tinker protested American involvement in the
  Vietnam War by wearing black armbands to school.
  The principals in the school district created a
  rule stating that each student wearing a black
  armband would be suspended. The Tinkers refused
  to take them off and were told they would not be
  allowed to come back until they agreed to remove
  their armbands. The U.S. District Court ruled
  that the Tinkers had a right to wear the
  armbands, however, being a distraction, favored
  the schools. The schools were favored in the U.S.
  Eighth Circuit Court as well. The case was taken
  to the Supreme Court where the Tinkers rights
  were finally awarded and the banning of armbands
  was noted unconstitutional.

Above John Tinker Below Mary Tinker
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5.) What Did the Supreme Court Need To Decide?

• After the U.S. District Court and the U.S. Eighth
  Circuit Court ruled in favor of the schools, the
  Supreme Court was to decide if these decisions
  were unconstitutional.
• They had to question many different points of
  view were the students distracting other
  students and/or causing violence? What kind of
  speech or action is protected under the first
  amendment? Under what circumstances is symbolic
  speech protected?

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6.) The Courts Ruling

• The Supreme Court ruled in Tinkers favor, they
  said it was unconstitutional to deny their form
  of expression.
• Seven of the nine justices agreed in favor of
  Tinker. They said that they were just voicing
  their opinion and there was no violence involved
  so it wasnt hurting anybody.
• 2 of the nine dissented and said that they agreed
  with the public schools decisions. Mr. Justice
  Harlan said, I totally agree with the state
  public schools discharge of their decisions. He
  also said, it was a workable constitutional
  rule.

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7.) The Changes the Decision Made

• The Court said that the State had no right to
  deny their form of expression and it was
  unconstitutional.
• They allowed the Tinkers to wear the armbands and
  they were allowed to express they way they felt
  about the war as long as it didnt turn into an
  interruption in classrooms.

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8.) Core Democratic Value

• This Supreme Court decision can be supported by
  the CDV Individual Rights
• Individual rights includes the freedom of speech
  symbolic, pure, or otherwise.
• Individual rights protected by the Constitution
  are found in the First and Fourteenth Amendments.
• This ruling made sure that students rights were
  not taken away.

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9.) Civil Liberties

• Freedom of speech is a civil liberty.
• If the Supreme Court had made any other decision
  in this case, the civil liberties of students
  would be infringed upon.
• Through this case, the Court acknowledged that
  students are still American citizens and
  protected silent political expression in schools
  as a Constitutional right.

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Groups Opinion

• Our group agrees wholeheartedly with the Supreme
  Courts decision in the case, Tinker vs. Des
  Moines.
• We feel that denying students the right to
  political expression and the freedom of speech is
  disgustingly Unconstitutional.
• We hope you enjoyed our presentation!

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Pictures of Vietnam Protests