opinion in Texas v. Johnson
E31051
The opinion in Texas v. Johnson is the landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision that held flag burning is protected speech under the First Amendment.
Aliases (1)
Statements (47)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
United States Supreme Court majority opinion
→
judicial opinion → |
| appliedTo |
Texas flag desecration statute
→
|
| category |
United States Supreme Court cases of the Rehnquist Court
→
United States Supreme Court cases on freedom of speech → |
| characteristic |
controversial free speech ruling
→
landmark First Amendment decision → |
| chiefJusticeAtTime |
William H. Rehnquist
→
|
| citation |
491 U.S. 397
→
|
| conclusion |
the state may not criminalize flag desecration based on the message it conveys
→
|
| constitutionalProvisionInterpreted |
First Amendment to the United States Constitution
→
|
| country |
United States of America
→
|
| court |
Supreme Court of the United States
→
|
| decisionDate |
1989-06-21
→
|
| dissentingJustices |
Byron R. White
→
John Paul Stevens → Sandra Day O’Connor → William H. Rehnquist → |
| docketNumber |
No. 88-155
→
|
| holding |
Burning the American flag in political protest is expressive conduct protected by the First Amendment
→
The government may not prohibit expression simply because society finds the idea offensive or disagreeable → |
| joinedBy |
Anthony M. Kennedy
→
Antonin Scalia → Harry A. Blackmun → Thurgood Marshall → |
| jurisdiction |
United States
→
|
| legalIssue |
whether flag burning as political protest is protected speech
→
whether the state’s interest in preserving the flag as a symbol justifies criminalizing its desecration → |
| locationOfOralArgument |
Supreme Court of the United States Building, Washington, D.C.
→
|
| lowerCourt |
Texas Court of Criminal Appeals
→
|
| lowerCourtDisposition |
affirmed judgment of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals
→
|
| majorityAuthor |
William J. Brennan Jr.
→
|
| partOf |
case Texas v. Johnson
→
|
| party |
Gregory Lee Johnson
→
State of Texas → |
| precedentFor |
United States v. Eichman
→
|
| recognizes |
flag burning as expressive conduct
→
|
| rejectsGovernmentInterest |
preserving the flag as a symbol of nationhood and national unity as a basis for suppressing expression
→
|
| result |
conviction of Gregory Lee Johnson reversed
→
|
| standardApplied |
strict scrutiny for content-based restrictions on expression
→
|
| statuteHeldUnconstitutional |
Texas law prohibiting desecration of a venerated object
→
|
| subjectMatter |
First Amendment jurisprudence
→
flag desecration → freedom of speech → symbolic speech → |
| term |
1988 Term of the Supreme Court of the United States
→
|
| vote |
5–4
→
|
Referenced by (3)
| Subject (surface form when different) | Predicate |
|---|---|
|
William J. Brennan Jr.
→
William J. Brennan Jr. ("Texas v. Johnson") → |
notableWork |
|
First Amendment to the United States Constitution
("Texas v. Johnson")
→
|
hasLandmarkCase |