Name _______________________ Period _____ Essays - Case Law

Name: _______________________ Period: _____ A lesson on the free-speech debate Colin Kaepernick started First Amendment: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. TEXAS V. JOHNSON (1989) Summary This Landmark Supreme Court Cases and the Constitution focuses on a case involving expressive conduct, and what is for many a deeply cherished symbol of Americathe U.S. flag. In a closely divided (5-4) ruling, the Supreme Court held that states could not forbid burning the U.S. flag in protest, because doing so would violate the freedom of speech protected by the First Amendment. In 1984, the Republican Party convened in Dallas, Texas for their national convention. President Ronald Reagan, seeking a second term in office, was to be officially nominated as the GOP candidate for President. Scores of individuals organized a political protest in Dallas that voiced opposition to Reagan administration policies and those of some Dallas-based corporations. Among the protesters was Gregory Lee Johnson. As the demonstrators marched through the streets, chanting their message, a fellow protestor handed Johnson an American flag that had been taken from a flagpole at one of their protest locations. Upon reaching the Dallas City Hall, Johnson doused the flag with kerosene and set it ablaze. Johnson and his fellow demonstrators circled the burning flag and shouted "America, the red, white, and blue, we spit on you." No one was hurt or threatened with injury by the act, but many who witnessed it were deeply offended. Johnson was arrested, charged, and convicted of violating a Texas law that made it a crime to desecrate a "venerable object." Texas was not the only state to have anti-flag burning laws on the books, 47 other states also criminalized flag desecration. For his crime, Johnson received a sentence of one year in prison and was ordered to pay a $2,000 fine. Johnson appealed his conviction and his case eventually went to the Supreme Court. Johnson argued that the Texas flag desecration statute violated the First Amendment, which says "Congress shall make no lawabridging the freedom of speechor the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances." The state of Texas argued that it had an interest in preserving the flag as a symbol of national unity. The Court had to consider: Are there certain symbols that are so widely cherished and understood to convey certain meanings that the government can regulate their use? The Court agreed with Johnson (5-4) and struck down the Texas statute. Burning a U.S. flag in protest was expressive conduct protected by the First Amendment. "The First Amendment literally forbids the abridgment only of speech,' but we have long recognized that its protection does not end at the spoken or written word[.] If there is a bedrock principle underlying the First Amendment, it is that the government may not prohibit the expression of an idea simply because society finds the idea itself offensive or disagreeable[.]" Though Texas v. Johnson has been upheld in subsequent Supreme Court cases, flag desecration itself remains unpopular in America. The House of Representatives has, on six different occasions, voted on a Constitutional Amendment known as the Flag Desecration Amendment, which states: "The Congress shall have power to prohibit the physical desecration of the flag of the United States." Each time this Amendment has been introduced, it has passed the House by the required two-thirds majority. The Amendment never passed the Senate with the 67 votes needed, but it also has never received less than 63 votes in support. Discussion Questions: Write your answers on a separate sheet of paper and attach to this document: Vocabulary: Define all of the bold underline words in the document. Ten words in total. Why was Gregory Johnson arrested? What was the Texas law on flag desecration? Rephrase the following statement in your own words: "The state of Texas argued that it had an interest in preserving the flag as a symbol of national unity." What were the arguments on each side? Do you agree