Discussing Texas V. Johnson Essay - 1632 Words

Discussing Texas v. Johnson This paper will dive in and analyze the decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in the case, Texas v. Johnson, and the still active controversy among the public concerning what circumstances state governments and the federal government have the right to constitutionally prohibit the burning or other form of desecration to the American Flag. Under its decision in Texas v. Johnson the later ruling in the case of United States v. Eichman, in 1990, the Supreme Court had ruled that government can not bring criminal prosecutions against those whom burn or desecrate the American flag so long as they are engaged in expressions of political views without abridging the right of free speech guaranteed under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution at the time. These rulings have sparked public controversy over whether the Court has gone beyond its correct constitutional role and multiple proposed constitutional amendments to overturn the Court s decisions which have failed to pass due to lack of majority. In 1984, Marxist Gregory Johnson, a known radical participated outside of the Republican National Convention in Dallas to perform a political demonstration against policies of the administration of Ronald Reagan and certain Dallas corporations. During this time, Gregory burned an American flag, was arrested, tried and convicted in a Dallas court of a violation of Texas Penal Code Ann. sec. 42.09(a)(3) and sentenced to one year in prison. ThatShow MoreRelatedEssay on Hate Speech is the Price We Must Pay for Freedom of Speech2302 Words   |  10 Pagesimportant? Many views exist and are hotly debated, but most agree that this amendment has enabled some of the best things in the history of our country to be said; and ultimately done. 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