Ashley Waldo
Kaplan University
PA205-01 Unit 1 Writing Assignment

1.) The case study references one state statute. Identify it and explain what it prohibits. The case study references Texas Penal Code section 42.09(a)(3) which prohibits the desecration of a venerable object.

2.) Which branch of government (executive, judicial, or legislative) created the state statute? The legislative branch, the Senate and House of Representatives, of the government created this state statute.

3.) The passage above also discusses one court case. Who were the parties involved in the case? The state of Texas and Gregory Johnson were the parties’ involved in this court case.

4.) The case was heard by three lower courts before it reached the United States Supreme Court. List those three courts in order, beginning with the court that has the most authority and ending with the court that has the least amount of authority. The case was heard by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals which has the most authority, the Texas Court of Appeals, Fifth District with the middle amount of authority, and the Dallas County Criminal Court with the least amount of authority.

5.) Provide the citation for the United States Supreme Court’s decision in this case. After hearing oral arguments and reading the parties’ appellate briefs, the Supreme Court, in a 5-4 vote, affirmed the decision of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. Texas V. Johnson, 491 U.S. 397 (1989).

6.) What effect did the United States Supreme Court’s decision have on the Texas statute? The United States Supreme Court ruled that the Texas statute was inconsistent with the First Amendment, and therefore the court struck down the statute.

7.) Write 1-2 paragraphs explaining the difference between case law (like the court cases above) and