Texas v. Johnson, 491 U.S. 397 (1989) Alysha Gerba

Summary Issue: Whether flag burning constitutes "symbolic speech" protected by the First Amendment Modern case, so Democrats and Republicans were involved Argued March 21, 1989 and decided June 21, 1989 Occurred in Dallas, Texas

Preceding Events Gregory Lee Johnson, part of a group that had gathered to protest Reagan’s policies, doused an American flag with kerosene and lit it on fire in front of the Dallas City Hall arrested for violating Texas’s state law that prohibited desecration of the U.S. flag and eventually was convicted fined and sentenced to one year in jail conviction subsequently was overturned by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals (the state’s highest appeals court for criminal cases), which argued that symbolic speech was protected by the First Amendment

Historical Context Ronald Reagan was current president sought to stimulate the economy with large, across-the-board tax cuts expansionary fiscal policies soon became known as "Reaganomics" considered by some to be the most serious attempt to change the course of U.S. economic policy of any administration since the New Deal Johnson was protesting Reagan’s policies

Supreme Court Ruling ruled on June 21, 1989, that the burning of the U.S. flag was a constitutionally protected form of speech under the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment In June the Supreme Court released a controversial 5–4 ruling in which it upheld the appeals court decision that desecration of the U.S. flag was constitutionally protected, calling the First Amendment’s protection of speech a “bedrock principle” and stating that the government could not prohibit “expression of an idea simply because society finds the idea itself offensive or disagreeable”

Can the government prohibit the act of flag burning as an infringement on the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment? (Opposing Viewpoints) The Court has interpreted the First Amendment to grant a higher level of protection to speech than it grants to conduct because not all conduct is considered a form of speech. The First Amendment does protect symbolic speech, but some actions do not always rise to the level of “symbolic speech” so as to require protection under the First Amendment. Flag burning is the destruction of a symbol of national unity. Even if the flag that is destroyed is private property, the government has a legitimate interest in regulating its protection because of what the flag represents to the nation. Lines must be drawn when it comes to expressive speech to make sure that otherwise criminal conduct is not couched in “First Amendment” terms.

My Opinion I personally do not agree with burning an American flag but I understand why it is legal to and that it is protected by the first amendment.

Majority Opinion Justice William Brennan wrote for a five-justice majority in holding that defendant Gregory Lee Johnson's act of flag burning was protected speech under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. Johnson was represented by attorneys David D. Cole and William Kunstler. The majority said that the government could not discriminate in this manner based solely upon viewpoint. Writing for the dissent, Justice Stevens argued that the flag's unique status as a symbol of national unity outweighed "symbolic speech" concerns, and thus, the government could lawfully prohibit flag burning.

Related Court Cases Brandenburg v. Ohio, 395 U.S. 444 (1969) Speech that supports law-breaking or violence in general is protected by the First Amendment unless it directly encourages people to take an unlawful action immediately. Morse v. Frederick, 551 U.S. 393 (2007) the First Amendment does not prevent educators from suppressing, at or across the street from a school-supervised event, student speech that is reasonably viewed as promoting illegal drug use

Why a “landmark” case? The lasting legacy of the Johnson case was to demonstrate the First Amendment protection of forms of political expression, extends even to those as unpopular and provocative as burning the national flag.