Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District
393 U.S. 503 · 1969-02-24
Students do not shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech at the schoolhouse gate.
Edition: U. S. Reports, bound volume
Source: U. S. Reports, volume 393, at 503 (Library of Congress) · transcription: Caselaw Access Project
Voices: Mr. Justice Fortas delivered the opinion of the Court. · Me. Justice Stewart, concurring. · Me. Justice White, concurring. · Mb. Justice Black, dissenting. · Mr. Justice Harlan, dissenting.
Petitioner John F. Tinker, 15 years old, and petitioner Christopher Eckhardt, 16 years old, attended high schools in Des Moines, Iowa. Petitioner Mary Beth Tinker, John’s sister, was a 13-year-old student in junior high school.
In December 1965, a group of adults and students in Des Moines held a meeting at the Eckhardt home. The group determined to publicize their objections to the hostilities in Vietnam and their support for a truce by wearing black armbands during the holiday season and by fasting on December 16 and New Year’s Eve. Petitioners and their parents had previously engaged in similar activities, and they decided to participate in the program.Read it in the reading room ›