This case study references the Texas Penal Code Annotated (Tex. Penal Code
Ann. § 42.09(a)(3), which penalizes such physical mistreatment of "a national flag" as Mr.
Gregory Lee Johnson should know this incident could possibly offend some people and cause a lot of controversy as well. The state of Texas Legislative branch created this statue. The case study discussed the court case of the state of Texas versus Gregory Lee Johnson. This case was heard by three lower courts before it reached the United States Supreme Court. The first court was the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals which is deemed the highest court in the state of
Texas, the Texas Court of Appeals, Fifth District and Dallas County Criminal Court. The United
States Supreme Court’s decision on the case rendered the Texas statute invalid for the charges made against Gregory Lee Johnson however; the Court did grant Texas permission to make flag burning punishable by law in instances where it constitutes an actual danger or lawless action.
Common law is defined as law that has been developed on the basis of preceding rulings by judges. Common law is by far and wide based on judgments made in the past over hundreds of years. Common law is also known as case law and is of two types – one where judgments passed become new laws where there are no statutes and the other where judges interpret the existing law and determines new boundaries and distinctions. Determination of common law for a particular case is a process that begins with research analysis, location of previous relevant cases, extraction of statements and sentences passed in order to finally determine the common law applicable. Decisions of higher courts rule over lower courts and earlier cases. Statutory laws are already written and need just to be applied to a specific case. Common law is being developed on an everyday