Max McClellan
9/20/15
APUSH
Schneider
The Bill of Rights Supreme Court Cases
Case 1: Texas vs. Johnson (1989)
A.) Gregory Lee Johnson burned an American flag outside of the convention center where the 1984 Republican National Convention was being held in Dallas, Texas. Johnson burned the flag to protest the policies of President Ronald Reagan. He was arrested and charged with violating a Texas statute that prevented the desecration of a venerated object, including the American flag. A Texas court tried and convicted Johnson. He appealed, arguing that his actions were "symbolic speech" protected by the First Amendment. The Supreme Court agreed to hear his case.
B.) Does the burning of the American flag constitute as "symbolic speech” which…show more content… Justice Potter Stewart believed that the right to counsel should not arise until indictment, and that this result would cause problems for fair administration of criminal justice.
Case 3: Kyllo vs US (2001)
A.) A Department of the Interior agent was suspicious of Danny Kyllo for illicit drug activity. He then used thermal imaging on his house to detect hot spots commonly found in areas involved with the growing of marijuana. He found these hot spots in his house and was arrested by the government where they in fact found a marijuana operation. Danny argued that the technology used to scan his complex violated his Fourth Amendment rights as an unconstitutional search without a warrant.
B.) Does the use of a thermal-imaging device to detect relative amounts of heat emanating from a private home constitute an unconstitutional search in violation of the Fourth Amendment?
C.) The judges decided in a vote of 5-4 that the search was unconstitutional and against the Forth…show more content… On appeal, the Georgia Supreme Court applied the death sentence but not to the robbery conviction. Gregg challenged his remaining death sentence for murder, claiming that his capital sentence was a "cruel and unusual" punishment that violated the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments.
B.) Is the application of the death sentence prohibited under the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments as "cruel and unusual" punishment?
C.) The Court ruled against Gregg. In a 7-to-2 decision, the Court held that a punishment of death did not violate the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments under all circumstances.
D.) In extreme criminal cases, such as when a defendant has been convicted of deliberately killing another, the careful use of the death penalty may be appropriate if deemed so. This is a case-by-case basis. The Court also decided to go by the state legislature of Georgia and their own death penalty statute.
F.) Justices Brennan and Marshall stated that the death penalty doesn’t deter crime and it is an inappropriate way of retribution. However Justice White states that capital punishment cannot be unconstitutional because the Constitution expressly mentions it and because two centuries of Court decisions assumed that it was constitutional.
