Many cases before the United States Supreme Court have reassured the rights of citizens. One such case was that of Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District 1965. This case involved five students who were suspended from school for wearing black armbands. Should the students have been suspended? Tinker v. Des Moines was a highly controversial case before the Supreme Court in which public school students' rights to free speech and expression were violated. Mary Beth Tinker was just thirteen years old in December 1964 when she and four other students were suspended from school for wearing black armbands. Black armbands were a sign of protest against the Vietnam War. The school suspended the students and told them they could not return to school until they agreed to remove the armbands. Students only returned to school after the Christmas break and wore black the rest of the year as a sign of protest. The Tinker family, along with other supporters, did not believe the suspension was constitutional and sued the Des Moines Independent Community School District. The Supreme Court's majority decision, 7-2, declared the suspension unconstitutional (Tinker V. Des Moines). In the case of Tinker v. Des Moines, students' First Amendment rights were violated. They were unable to freely express their opinions. The First Amendment states: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or restrict freedom of expression or the rights of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances” (Classifying Arguments in the Cas...... middle of article ......as, J., J. Stewart, J. White, J. Black, and J. Harlan. “Tinker V. Des Moines Independent Community School District (No. 21”) Cornell University School of Law, February 24, 1969. Web, October 29, 2013. "Summary of the decision." Landmark cases of the Supreme Court of the United States. Street Law, Inc., nd Web, November 1, 2013. "Tinker V. Des Moines." Civil Liberties Union, March 16, 2007. Web, October 29, 2013. "Tinker V. Des Moines (1969) Bill Of Rights Institute, 2012. Web.. 2013. .