Period 4
Zachary Chase
Jared Barclay
Grant Besner
Marc Geller
Texas v. Johnson
1989
Appellant: Texas
Apellee: Johnson
Facts of the Case: Gregory Lee Johnson burned an American flag which violated Texas’s
law which prohibited flag desecration.
Decision of the Lower Court: Sided with Johnson.
Legal Aspects of the Case: Texas’s law violated Johnson’s 1st amendment freedom of
expression (not exactly freedom of speech). The Supreme Court took on the case because
48 states had the same flag desecration law and wanted to strike it down. Wanted to
establish freedom of expression.
Decision of the Supreme Court: Upheld the lower court’s decision and sided with
Johnson. This is a strict interpretation of the Constitution
The rule of precedent: Speech is not just talking, it is a form of expression and laws cannot
prohibit people from engaging in forms of expression. The form of expression must be
clearly related to the issue that is being protested.