By: Alexis, Charlene, Zach

Texas v Johnson

• Finkelman, Paul, and Melvin I. Urofsky. "Texas v. Johnson." In Landmark Decisions of the United States Supreme Court, 509. Washington, DC: CQ Press, 2003. http://library.cqpress.com/scc/lndmrk03-113-6442-349565.

History

• Gregory Lee Johnson was a veteran of The Vietnam War
• He burned the American flag while protesting the Republican National Convention in Texas

"During all basic training, we were taught to

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• Ronald Reagan's policies were his reasons for protesting
• He was arrested for burning the flag and sentenced to one year in jail and ordered to pay a fine

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• A court in Texas appealed his case claiming his case was unconstituitonal.

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• Burning the flag was seen as his way of symbolic speech, a protected right
• Because he was not convicted under disturbing the peace his rights were protected under the 1st amendment.

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• The court explained he could not be prosecuted for his way of "expression" solely based on offending people.

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• The outcome of Johnson's case was decided in his favor with the vote being 5 to 4
• After the decision the court decided to make burning of the flag a federal crime.

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• The Court acknowledged that while “the government generally has a freer hand in restricting expressive conduct than it has in restricting the written or spoken word,” it still cannot prohibit certain conduct just because it disapproves of the ideas expressed. The justices declared that “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.” The government must have reasons for regulating the conduct that are unrelated to the popularity of the ideas it expresses. first list item here

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• The court did not succeed in passing this law
• And today the people are still protected in this way of speech under the 1st amendment.

work Cited

• "In Their Own Words: Compendium of Veterans' Quotes Against the Flag Desecration Amendment." American Civil Liberties Union. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Oct. 2015.
• Paul Finkelman & Melvin I. Urofsky, Texas v. Johnson, in Landmark Decisions of the United States Supreme Court 509 (2003), available at http://library.cqpress.com/scc/lndmrk03-113-6442-349565.
• "Facts and Case Summary - Texas v. Johnson." United States Courts. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Oct. 2015.