Home > Great American Court Cases > Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District

Legal Citation: 393 U.S. 503 (1969)

Petitioners
John P. Tinker, Mary Beth Tinker, Christopher Eckhardt

Respondent
Des Moines Independent Community School District

Petitioners' Claim
That it was a violation of free speech rights for their high school to suspend them for wearing black armbands to protest the Vietnam War.

Chief Lawyer for Petitioners
Dan Johnston

Chief Lawyer for Respondent
Allan A. Herrick

Justices for the Court
William J. Brennan, Jr., William O. Douglas, Abe Fortas (writing for the Court), Thurgood Marshall, Potter Stewart, Earl Warren, Byron R. White

Justices Dissenting
Hugo Lafayette Black, John Marshall Harlan II

Place
Washington, D.C.

Date of Decision
24 February 1969

Decision
The Supreme Court struck down the school regulation that...