Texas v. Johnson (1989)

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Recommended: Is the burning of the flag protected under the 1st amendment

In 1984, there was a protest in the streets of Dallas; Gregory Lee Johnson was one of the many protesters there. During the protest Johnson set an American Flag on fire. There were some who agreed with what Johnson had done, but there were several others who felt extremely offended. This caused Johnson to go to court When Johnson went to court he was found guilty and was charged with "the desecration of a venerated object.”, and was sentence to a $2,000 fine, and one year in prison. Jonson should have not gone to court in the first place because what he had done was protected under the first amendment, the freedom of speech and the freedom of assembly. In the first amendment it states that there should be no law against the freedoms of speech. Protesting is one form of speech, also is the burning of the flag. Johnson was expressing himself as he was burning the flag. However, there is a limit though. If what you are saying, or doing, disturbs the peace, or puts harm in someone’s way, then it is not protected under your first amendment. . During court Mr. Kunstler stated, “Whether the actor knows or means that what he’s doing will seriously offend one or more persons, likely to observe or destroy or discover his particular act.” The Government, nor the person, cannot always know if the burning of an American flag would cause a riot every single time; furthermore, if someone burns an American Flag, and does not cause a riot, it would not be violating the first amendment the constitution sates “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 Governme... ... middle of paper ... ...n got justice, and won the case 5-4. Works Cited "FACTS AND CASE SUMMARY: TEXAS V. JOHNSON." UNITED STATES Court, n.d. Web. . "Texas V. Johnson." Legal Information Institute. Cornell University Law School, n.d. Web. 29 Oct. 2012. http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/historics/USSC_CR_0491_0397_ZS.html>. TEXAS v. JOHNSON. The Oyez Project at IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law. 25 January 2014. .

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