Opinion of the Court (Justice Abe Fortas)
The court decided in favor of the Tinkers, 7 to 2. They said that the armbands represented speech and should not be suppressed. If the schools wanted to do that, they said, they needed to provide proof that said speech would be “materially and substantially” interfering with the learning process (Oyez), and that simply fearing disruption is not enough to strip students of their First
Amendment rights. The justices that agreed with the majority were Justices Warren, Douglas, Brennan, Stewart, White, Fortas, and Marshall (Oyez).
Concurring Opinions (Justices Stewart and