REASONING OF THE COURT -- Part IV: Tinker vs. Des Moines School District (1969)

4. Reasoning of the court -- analysis of the thinking process and logic used by previous judges.

Justice Abe Fortas was the Judge to write for the majority. The two judges who dissented were Justice Black and Justice Harlan. The other 7 judges who agreed that the wearing of the armbands was protected under the first amendment had said that there was no exact proof that the people who chose to wear the armbands disrupted class. The teachers had the right to make rules for the school that would lead to arguments and disruptive behavior, but in this case, the students did a silent protest and were not causing harm to anybody. “Outside the classrooms, a few students made hostile remarks to the children wearing armbands, but there were no threats or acts of violence on school premises” (bc.edu).

Works Cited:
http://www.bc.edu/bc_org/avp/cas/comm/free_speech/tinker.html
http://www.oyez.org/cases/1960-1969/1968/1968_21/