Texas v. Johnson (1989)

Background of the case

Gregory Lee Johnson participated in a political demonstration during the Republican National Convention in Dallas, Texas, in 1984. The demonstrators were protesting the policies of the Reagan Administration and of certain companies based in Dallas. They marched through the streets, shouted slogans, and held protests outside the offices of several companies. At one point, another demonstrator handed Johnson an American flag.

When the demonstrators reached Dallas City Hall, Johnson poured kerosene on the flag and set it on fire. During the burning of the flag, demonstrators shouted “America, the red, white, and blue, we spit on you.” No one was hurt, but some witnesses to the flag burning said they were extremely offended. One witness picked up the flag’s burned remains and buried them in his backyard.

Johnson was charged with violating the Texas law that prohibits vandalizing respected objects. He was convicted, sentenced to one year in prison, and fined $2,000. He appealed his conviction to the Court of Appeals for the Fifth District of Texas, but he lost this appeal.The Texas Court of Criminal appeals would then see his case. This was the highest court in Texas that would see Criminal Appeals. That court overturned his conviction, saying that the State could not punish Johnson for burning the flag because the First Amendment protects such activity as symbolic speech.

The State had said that its interests were more important than Johnson’s symbolic speech rights because it wanted to preserve the flag as a symbol of national unity, and because it wanted to maintain order. The court said neither of these state interests could be used to justify Johnson’s conviction.

The court said, “Recognizing that the right to differ is the centerpiece of our First Amendment freedoms, a government cannot mandate by fiat a feeling of unity in its citizens. Therefore that very same government cannot carve out a symbol of unity and prescribe a set of approved messages to be associated with that symbol . . .” The court also concluded that the flag burning in this case did not cause or threaten to cause a breach of the peace.

The State of Texas asked the Supreme Court of the United States to hear the case. In 1989, the Court handed down its decision

Sourced from Texas v. Johnson (1989) at Wikipedia

After reading the account of this case I would like for you to ask yourself how far the freedom of speech and expression is protected. Follow the next link to a page on the landmarkcases.org site and answer the questions. Review your answers. You will be asked to determine whether or not something is protected through the freedom of symbolic speech. Then you are asked to explain your rationale. Your rationale is your reason for making your decision. In your own blog I would like for you to post a reflection on this assignment on what you learned and your opinions on freedom of speech and the First Amendment.

Assignment Page is located at: Symbolic Speech at LandmarkCases.Org

~ by andrewmolinari on February 5, 2008.