Smith v. United States Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Smith v. United States - Research Paper Example The petitioners, as well as their parents, had beforehand involved in parallel activities, and they chose to partake in the program. The school had instituted a policy sanctioning students to put on arm bands carrying political symbols, but had prohibited the wearing of armbands disapproving the Vietnam War (Farish, 1997). The policy detailed that any student putting on an armband to school would be requested to remove it, and if the subject declined, he would be suspended till he resumed schooling without the armband. The petitioners wore black bands on December 16, to their school while John Tinker donned his armband the next day. The petitioners were told to go back home and suspended from school and advised to go back without their armbands (Thomas & Dale, 2009). The petitioners sought nominal damages and an injunction in opposition to a regulation that the respondents had transmitted prohibiting the wearing of armbands (Farish, 1997). ... the 1st Amendment, the school district subsequently contravened the safeguards established in the 14th Amendment that guarantees that constitutional rights are extended to all citizens, inclusive of students and teachers (Gold, 2007). The Background and Issue of the Case The petitioners, John F. Tinker (15 years old) and the Christopher Eckhardt (16 years old), were High school students in Des Moines, Iowa. The other petitioner, Mary Beth Tinker, was a junior high school student and John’s sister. Subsequent to an evidentiary hearing, the District Court threw out the complaint and sustained that the prohibition was reasonable and constitutional so as to safeguard disorder of school discipline (258 F. Supp. 971 (1966). The case was discharged since the law allowed the Board to exercise its power, notwithstanding the absence of any finding of considerable intrusion with the conduct of school activities (Burnside v. Byars, 363 F. 2d 744, 749 (1966). The Court of Appeals confirmed by an evenly divided court by holding that: in putting on armbands, the petitioners were quiet and passive and were not upsetting and did not intrude on the liberties enjoyed by others. As such, their conduct was agreeable to the safeguards availed by the 1st Amendment, plus the 14th Amendment. The court also asserted that the 1st Amendment rights are applicable to teachers and students alike, subject to application within exceptional circumstances such as the school environment (Thomas & Dale, 2009). A ban on expression of opinion devoid of any evidence on the necessity to circumvent considerable meddling with school discipline or the liberties of others is not allowable under First and Fourteenth Amendments. Constitutional Question(s)/ Issue Raised by the Case The core issues centres on the