The Supreme Court has looked over many cases, all making drastic life changes and some making no difference in the world. The case Texas vs. Johnson uproared so many political arguments, amendment arguments, and even country disputes. This case was and is still important because it brought up the basis of the government's beliefs against an individual beliefs. The Supreme Court did rule in favor of Johnson, but it disgusted them, and they did not believe it was okay. The main reason why the government and many military personales found it offensive ws because it found a different way to speech out against the nation. Texas v. Johnson was about a man named Gregory Lee Johnson who burned an American flag for his protest against the Reagan administration …show more content…
The American flag has such a powerful meaning behind just being a flag. It represents how this democracy country started, and to all of what it has expanded to. Soldiers are trained to always protect this flag because behind the flag is every American citizen they are trained to protect. Texas argued that “the flag is a symbol of nationhood and national unity justice”.(cite) The flag caused such a heavy case because some people don’t considers the flag to be special. People can burn state flags, the presidential seals and even the constitution if they were able to get ahold of it. The racial group, KKK, is allowed to discriminate on the basis of race, causing outrage and defiant behavior, but they are not stopped because they are expressing free speech. The same thing Johnson was doing when he was burning the flag because to him to was expressing his speech in a symbolic way. Although Johnson was imprisoned for one year after burning the flag, flags are constantly being burnt by the armed forces. When a flag has become old and worn out they have a ceremony which eventually leads to the burning of the flag. A flag is still getting burned, but the problem is that one offends to many people. What would be free speech if no one disagrees with it? Texas second argument did not work because Johnson’s protest ran with the fact that not every has the same beliefs, making it hard to argue that the flag is
Out of around one hundred demonstrators who were included in this protest, Johnson was exclusively charged with the crime of burning the American flag. Johnson was indicted under Texas law, which made the burning of the national or the state flag a crime. Johnson was indicted and sentenced
It is clear to see that flag burning causes tension, good tension as MLK would call it, that causes attention to be drawn to a topic and forces people to acknowledge the problem. Destroying the American flag is a powerful method of protest that says “This flag is useless because America is not what it is supposed to stand
Introductory paragraph “The flag is one of the most recognizable symbol of the United States.” During the case of Johnson vs. Texas, I believe that Johnson was exercising his rights to free speech but I truly think that he should have done it somewhere else then a public square, someone could have gotten hurt by the flames of the burning flag, or Johnson could have gotten hurt because he was burning the flag around people who love the United States flag. I agree with the fact that Johnson was sentenced to 1 year in jail, he burned the Flag in Texas and in Texas they have a desecration law of violating the flag. From my own point of view, I think Johnson wasn’t exercising his rights to free speech but, he did it in the most absolutely
Its function as a neutral arbiter aids in ensuring that neither the legislative nor executive branches go beyond their constitutional bounds. The Court further restrains state power by deciding whether state laws or practices are constitutional, ensuring that state acts do not infringe on individual rights or transgress federal law. The Supreme Court's power to make binding decisions on contentious topics, frequently dictating the direction of legal, social, and political events, is another factor contributing to its significance in the federal court system. In difficult areas like abortion, its decisions can have a lasting effect on society and have a considerable impact on how laws are
The general argument made by author William J. Brennan in his work, “Majority Opinion,” is that it is legal to burn the flag if it is a form of political protest. More specifically, Brennan argues that we can not criminally punish people for burning a flag: the only thing we can do is convince them that they are wrong. He writes that they only thing we can do is “ Persuade them that they are wrong.” In this passage, Brennan suggests that criminally punishing a person for burning the flag will decrease the values of the flag by opposing the First Amendment. In conclusion, Brennan’s belief is that we should not punish people for burning the flag, but convince them that they are wrong.
During the 1984 Republic Nation Convention in Dallas, Texas, Gregory Lee Johnson burned an American flag while protesting the policies of President Ronald Reagan. He was arrested and charged with the violation of a Texas statute that prohibited the desecration of a respected object, including the American flag, if such actions would likely cause anger in others. Johnson was tried and convicted by a Texas court where he then appealed, arguing that his actions were a “symbolic speech” and therefore protected by the First Amendment. The Supreme Court agreed to hear the case, with the issue of whether or not the burning of an American flag was or could be considered “symbolic speech”.
Sam Houston didn’t want to secede from the union. “In his mind, there was no way the south could win” (Why Did Texans Fight). Yet, Texas seceded from the Union on March 2, 1861, becoming the seventh state to join the confederacy. But, “Huston refused to take an oath of loyalty to the new Confederacy and was forced to resign” (Why Did Texans Fight). Texans fought in the, soon to be very bloody, Civil War to protect their states’ rights, for their love of Texas, and to preserve slavery.
The American flags served as a blurred line between patriotism and support for Ted Cruz. When a student asked to be excused and not be forced into apparent political association, they were sternly reminded of school policy. All a student could do to show there disagreement was not to accept the flag.
Are You A Rebel?: Reasons Why The Confederate Flag Isn’t Actually Demeaning Racist or history? Demeaning or heritage? Questions like these arise when the confederate flag is discussed.
The court sentenced Johnson to one year in prison, and a fine of $2,000. Texas reversed Johnson’s conviction and the U.S. supreme court agreed to hear the case. If Johnson is not guilty, then he was right to his freedom of speech, because he burned the flag to get the laws attention Johnson tried to get the laws attention for what he needed to say, but they didn’t care for what he had to say. The only way to get the laws attention was doing something violent.
In december of 1860 South Carolina was the first state to secede from the union. They were the first state to use the Confederate flag. Ten other states would join South Carolina in seceding from the Union. The “Rebel Flag” which we see today is what is considered to be the Confederate flag. It is also called the “Stars and Bars Flag.”
That is very dishonoring for him to burn the flag. Many people died for our country to keep the flag up and high to show how great our country is. By Johnson for burning the flag he could have cause many people in danger if it got out of control. Burning the flag is a very dishonor to the United States and everything in between. The flag represents nationhood which gives us the freedom we need and want.
The law in Texas at the time banned flag burnings. He was convicted, and the case was appealed to the Supreme Court. We ruled that Johnson’s right to free speech had been violated. He was expressing symbolic speech. We ruled that even though an opinion is unpopular, doesn’t mean we have the right to restrict his freedom of
The trial of the Scottsboro boys was a trial that was the cause of two white women accusing nine black men of raping them. Their appeals, retrials, and legal proceedings attracted the attention of the nation and produced to Supreme Court rulings in their favor. The Scottsboro boys trial demonstrates that nonconformity to unjust practices can lead to justice for all people because their trial triggered The Supreme Court ruling that had a major impact on the American system of laws for the right to adequate counsel, the ruling for the right to not be excluded from a jury based on race, and still has a continuing effect in our own time which affirms the principle of equal protection under the law. Their case not only saved them from the death sentence but also started up debate about equal protection under the law such as in the first Supreme Court ruling.
Cornell University stated in an article, “Johnson was convicted of desertion of a venerated object in violation of Texas statute.” Johnson's actions were protected by the First Amendment so he was not sent to prison as stated in the United States Supreme Court case Texas v Johnson. His actions against the flag should have been more severe. Since Johnson’s actions were not threatening the branches of peace, there was no threat in the moment. “... and since the