1. ET: What Would You Decide? DIRECTIONS: On a clean sheet of paper, place a heading in the upper- right corner. Read the brief case synopsis and then answer the question that follows. Case Name:Texas v. Gregory Lee Johnson, 491 U.S. 397 (1989) - Rehnquist Categories:criminal, First Amendment, flag desecration, freedom of speech, protest demonstrations Facts of the Case:In 1984, in front of the Dallas City Hall, Gregory Lee Johnson burned an American flag as a means of protest against Reagan administration policies. Johnson was tried and convicted under a Texas law outlawing flag desecration. Question:Is the desecration of an American flag, by burning or otherwise, a form of speech that is protected under the First Amendment?

3. Decision Date: June 21, 1989 Background: The 1984 Republican National Convention was held in Dallas, Texas. During the convention Gregory Lee Johnson and a group of political activists marched through the streets protesting. When the demonstrators reached Dallas City Hall, Johnson poured kerosene on an American flag and burned it. Johnson was arrested and convicted under a Texas state law. In an appeal, Johnson argued that burning the American flag was symbolic speech and protected by the First Amendment. The Texas appeals court agreed and overturned his conviction. Unsatisfied with the decision, the state of Texas, appealed the ruling to the United States Supreme Court.

4. ET: The Court’s Finding In a 5-to-4 decision, the Court held that Johnson’s burning of a flag was protected expression under the First Amendment. The Court found that Johnson’s action fell into the category of expressive conduct and had a distinctively political nature. The fact that an audience takes offense to certain ideas or expression, the Court found, does not justify as prohibitions of speech.

5. II.Formal Amendments A. Process - There are four methods to formally amend (changing the written language) the Constitution. Each method ensures that the National Government and State Governments are in agreement to the need of formally amending the Constitution (an example of federalism). An amendment cannot be accomplished without joint majority approval. 1. Proposed by 2/3 vote in each house of Congress and ratified by ¾ of the State Legislatures (38 states)… 26 Amendments were adopted this way. 2. Proposed by 2/3 in each house of Congress and ratified by ¾ of the State Conventions (popularly elected delegates)… Only the 21 st Amendment was adopted this way. 3. Proposed by a National Convention requested by 2/3 of the State Legislatures (34) and ratified by ¾ of the State Legislatures. 4. Proposed by a National Convention requested by 2/3 of the State Legislatures (34) and ratified by ¾ of the State Conventions (popularly elected delegates).

6. B. There are 27 Amendments to the Constitution. 1. The first 10 Amendments are called the Bill of Rights because they set out the great constitutional guarantees of freedoms for the American people. NOTE: These were ratified after the Constitution. 2. The Civil War Amendments (13th, 14th, and 15th) combined to end slavery, define American citizenship, proclaim the rights of due process and equal protection of the law, and outlaw restitutions on the right to vote based on race, color, or previous condition of servitude. 3. Other amendments further define the workings of government, empower the government in certain ways, or deal with important social issues. II.Formal Amendments

7. III.Informal Amendments The process by which most changes have been made in the Constitution that have not led to changes in the document’s written words. 1.Basic Legislation - Congress spelling out brief provisions or further defining and interpreting the meaning of the Constitution. a)For example, Article II creates only the offices of the President and Vice President. The many departments, agencies, and offices in the huge executive branch have been created by acts of Congress b)For example, the Constitution gives Congress the expressed power to regulate “foreign and interstate commerce.” But, the constitution does not define what foreign commerce or interstate commerce is. By passing thousands of statutes, however, Congress has done much to define the meaning of these words.

8. 2.Executive Action - Presidents have used their powers to delineate unclear constitutional provisions, for example, making a difference between Congress’s power to declare war and the President’s power to wage war. 3.Court Decisions a)The nation’s courts interpret and apply the Constitution as they see fit, as in Marbury v. Madison. b) The Supreme Court has been called “a constitutional convention in continuous session.” III.Informal Amendments

9. 4.Party Practices a.Political conventions b. Nominating candidates for presidency c. Organizing Congress along party lines, and d. Injecting party policies in the process of presidential appointments. III.Informal Amendments

10. 5.Custom - Each branch of government has developed traditions that fall outside the provisions of the Constitution. a)An example is the executive advisory body known as the President’s cabinet. b)Another example is the “no-third-term tradition” which was a closely followed rule beginning in 1796 with George Washington. However, it was broken in 1940 and again in 1944 by Franklin Roosevelt who ran for a third and then a fourth term. As a result, the 22nd Amendment was added to the Constitution in 1951 making the informal amendment a formal one. III.Informal Amendments

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