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Texas Vs Johnson Case Study

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Luis Alejandro Diez Mrs. Patterson ELA 11.

Is the desecration of an American flag, by burning or otherwise, a form of speech that is protected by the First Amendment? That was the constitutional question in the landmark Supreme Court case, Texas v. Johnson (1989). In 1984, Gregory Lee Johnson, a Texas native, burned an American flag as a means of protest against the Reagan administration policies (Oyez). He was sentenced to one year in jail and issued a $2,000 fine, which was then reversed in the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. Subsequently, Texas appealed the case to the Supreme Court. The divided court held, in a 5-4 decision, that Johnson’s burning of the flag was protected under the First Amendment as an expression of symbolic speech

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