Constitutional Law Keyed to Cohen
Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District
Facts
In protest of the Vietnam War, several students wore black armbands to school. The Respondent adopted a policy that any students wearing the bands would be suspended for causing disruption. The Petitioners refused to remove their armbands and brought suit seeking protection of their First Amendment constitutional rights to political expression. After the Respondent invoked its policy, the Petitioners refused to remove their armbands and were suspended. They brought suit in federal court, seeking an injunction from the disciplinary practice, maintaining that they had done nothing disruptive. The District Court and Court of Appeals upheld the school action and an appeal was brought to the Supreme Court of the United States (Supreme Court).
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