TINKER V. DES MOINES

A well-written litigation case history involving free-speech rights for students is the newest title in the Landmark Supreme Court Cases series. In December 1965, two teenage children of a Methodist minister in Des Moines, Iowa, wore black armbands to school. ``For them, it was an act of mourning the dead of both sides from the war, and an act of support for a truce, or end of fighting, in Vietnam.'' Although the protest did not disrupt classes, John and Mary Beth Tinker were suspended. They ended up at the Supreme Court, then headed by Justice Earl Warren. Readers will be intrigued by the notion that some conduct is considered ``symbolic speech,'' and therefore protected by the First Amendment. Also portrayed well are the justices of the Supreme Court, and the Court's inner workings and protocol: The justices shake hands before they discuss cases, younger justices speak first (so they will not be intimidated by their senior colleagues), and they all maintain strict secrecy. There is an excellent discussion of ``burden of proof.'' A must-read for students and their teachers: Justice Abe Fortas, in his decision, reinforced the notion of the schoolroom as a miniature world when he wrote, ``It can hardly be argued that either students or teachers shed their constitutional rights of freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate.'' (b&w photos, notes, further reading, index) (Nonfiction. 11+)