Texas v. Johnson (1989)

675 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

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. .

Show More
Related

  • Arizona V. Hicks

    732 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Case of Arizona v. Hicks took place in 1986; the case was decided in 1987. It began on April 18th 1984, with a bullet that was shot through the floor in Hick’s apartment; it had injured a man in the room below him. An investigation took place. Officers were called to the scene. They entered Mr. Hicks’ apartment and discovered three weapons and a black stocking mask.

    Read More

  • Loving v. Virginia (388 U.S. 1)

    2066 Words  | 5 Pages

    Hall, Kermit L, eds. The Oxford guide to United States Supreme Court decisions New York: Oxford University Press, 1999.

    Read More

  • texas vs johnson

    699 Words  | 2 Pages

    Johnson and his lawyers were dissatisfied with this decision and made an appeal to the Fifth Texas Supreme Judicial District. This appeal, made on May 8, 1985 would be titled as Texas vs. Johnson. The defense argued that Johnson was prosecuted in violation of the first Amendment, clearly states that no law may take away a person's freedom of speech or expression, and of the Bill of Rights and the free speech clause of the Texas Constitution. Johnson argued that in his opinion, flag burning is part of freedom o...

    Read More

  • We Need a Constitutional Amendment to Protect the American Flag

    487 Words  | 1 Pages

    Free speech and the First Amendment rights do not give people lisence to desecrate a symbol of pride and freedom. It is not all right to protect those who let it burn, lighting up the sky with their hatred. It definitely is not acceptable to insult the men and women who fight every day to protect this nation by burning the symbol of their labors. Therefore, it is crucial that the Supreme Court pass the amendment to the Constitution to protect the flag of the US.

    Read More

  • Hernandez V. Texas

    603 Words  | 2 Pages

    In an article written by a Senior student they discuss a monumental moment in Mexican American history concerning equality in the South. The student’s paper revolves around the Pete Hernandez V. Texas case in which Hernandez receives a life in prison sentence by an all white jury. The essay further discusses how Mexican Americans are technically “white” americans because they do not fall into the Indian (Native American), or black categories and because of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo of 1848. The student’s paper proceeds to discuss the goals connecting the Hernandez V. Texas case which was to secure Mexican American’s right within the fourteenth amendment [1].

    Read More

  • Flag-Burning is No Crime

    1153 Words  | 3 Pages

    (B) "Texas v. Johnson Certiorari To The Court Of Criminal Appeals Of Texas." Blacula. (1989): 20pp. Online. Internet. 16 Nov. 1999.

    Read More

  • Essay On Des Moines Independent Community Schools

    579 Words  | 2 Pages

    Remy, Richard C., Gary E. Clayton, and John J. Patrick. "Supreme Court Cases." Civics Today. Columbus, Ohio: Glencoe, 2008. 796. Print.

    Read More

  • Texas v. Johnson Argumentative

    691 Words  | 2 Pages

    Much history came within the Texas v. Johnson case. It all started during the 1984 Republican National Convention, this is where Johnson participated in a political demonstration to protest what policies Regan was administrating (Brennan 1). A march was occurring throughout the city streets, which Johnson did take part in. Johnson burned an American flag while protesters chanted him on (Brennan 1). No person was specifically injured during this protest; although, many witnesses were severely offended (Brennan 1). Johnson was convicted of Desecration of a venerated object, which violated the Texas Statue. The state court of appeals affirmed Texas Court of Criminal Appeals and reversed the case stating it was a form of expressive conduct, so it was alright (Brennan 1). In a 5 to 4 decision the Supreme Court came to the conclusion that Johnson’s burning of the flag was protected under his First Amendment rights (Brennan 1). The court also found that although witnesses may have found it offensive, does not...

    Read More

  • 'Protecting Freedom Of Expression On The Campus' By Derek Bok

    1024 Words  | 3 Pages

    "Protecting Freedom of Expression on the Campus” by Derek Bok, published in Boston Globe in 1991, is an essay about what we should do when we are faced with expressions that are offensive to some people. The author discusses that although the First Amendment may protect our speech, but that does not mean it protects our speech if we use it immorally and inappropriately. The author claims that when people do things such as hanging the Confederate flag, “they would upset many fellow students and ignore the decent regard for the feelings of others” (70). The author discusses how this issue has approached Supreme Court and how the Supreme Court backs up the First Amendment and if it offends any groups, it does not affect the fact that everyone has his or her own freedom of speech. The author discusses how censorship may not be the way to go, because it might bring unwanted attention that would only make more devastating situations. The author believes the best solutions to these kind of situations would be to

    Read More

  • Lawrence V. Texas

    1308 Words  | 3 Pages

    Lawrence v. Texas In the case Lawrence v. Texas (539 U.S. 558, 2003) which was the United States Supreme Court case the criminal prohibition of the homosexual pederasty was invalidated in Texas. The same issue has been already addressed in 1989 in the case Bowers v. Hardwick, however, the constitutional protection of sexual privacy was not found at that time. Lawrence overruled Bowers and held that sexual conduct was the right protected by the due process under the Fourteenth Amendment. The effects of the ruling were quite widespread and led to invalidation of the similar laws throughout the United States that tried to criminalize the homosexual activity of adults who were acting in privacy.

    Read More

  • The Uncostitutional Restrictive Covenants

    687 Words  | 2 Pages

    SHELLEY v. KRAEMER. The Oyez Project at IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law. 23 March 2014. .

    Read More

  • Free Speech or Flag Protection? There Can’t Be Both.

    1380 Words  | 3 Pages

    The first and only time I had ever heard of someone burning the flag when I came across an article on Regory Lee Johnson. In 1984, he showed up at the Republican National Convention in Dallas, Texas and burned an American flag in order to show his knowledge of the policies of Reagan administration. At the time, he was convicted of flag desecration, but the Supreme Court overturned that decision by ruling that burning a flag was “expressive conduct within protection of the first Amendment” (Pledging allegiance). The issue of flag desecration is one that been around for a while. There are two sides to the debate: one being that the flag should be protected by law, and one being that it should not because it restricts free speech. There have been times when Congress has tried to pass laws protecting the flag, but Supreme Court as struck those laws down by deeming them as “violating the constitutional guarantee of free speech, and hence unconstitutional” (Wall, 1995). However, despite the Supreme Court’s ruling of the laws being unconstitutional, there are many advocates that are still trying to pass flag protection laws by amending the Constitution to allow it. This cannot be done. The constitution should not be amended to protect the flag because it would be a violation to our first amendment: our right to free speech.

    Read More

  • Mandatory Sentencing

    1772 Words  | 4 Pages

    Oct 1993. Retrieved November 18, 2010. Vol. 79. 134 pages (Document ID: 0747-0088) Published by American Bar Association

    Read More

  • American Flag Stands For Tolerance

    448 Words  | 1 Pages

    In the quote Barbara Jordan states, “We, as human beings , must be willing to accept people are different from ourselves” is the quote that I will be connecting this to two different story to show how many people discriminate other because they have a different outlook on this topic . In the story Texas v. Johnson Majority Opinion “We decline, therefore, to create for the flag an exception to the joust of principles protected by the first amendment”. Which in my opinion is showing that there are abusing the first amendment because if people have the freedom of speech then why are they ignored just for saying what they believe in if you have freedom of speech. And in the story American Flag Stands for Tolerance Ronald J. Allen states, “The

    Read More

  • Flag Burning Should Be Illegal

    800 Words  | 2 Pages

    Flag burning is not right, but making it illegal takes away from the freedom of speech which turns it more into a religion than a symbol according to Mr. Levendosky. “In the following viewpoint, Levendosky argues that burning the American flag is a form of political

    Read More

More about Texas v. Johnson (1989)

Open Document