Flag Protection Act of 1989
E642288
The Flag Protection Act of 1989 was a federal U.S. law that sought to criminalize desecration of the American flag but was soon invalidated as unconstitutional under the First Amendment.
Statements (45)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
United States federal statute
ⓘ
criminal law statute ⓘ |
| affectedByCourtCase |
United States v. Eichman
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
United States v. Haggerty NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| appliesTo | United States flag NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| areaOfLaw |
civil liberties
ⓘ
constitutional law ⓘ criminal law ⓘ |
| branchOfGovernmentInvolved | legislative branch of the United States ⓘ |
| conflictWith | First Amendment protections for expressive conduct ⓘ |
| constitutionalIssue |
First Amendment to the United States Constitution
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
freedom of speech ⓘ |
| controversy | debate over patriotism versus free speech rights ⓘ |
| country |
United States of America
ⓘ
surface form:
United States
|
| dateDeclaredUnconstitutional | 1990 ⓘ |
| enforcementAuthority |
United States Department of Justice
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
federal law enforcement agencies ⓘ |
| heldUnconstitutionalBy | Supreme Court of the United States NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| historicalContext | part of late 20th-century U.S. flag desecration controversy ⓘ |
| inspired | subsequent proposals for a flag desecration constitutional amendment ⓘ |
| jurisdiction |
United States government
ⓘ
surface form:
federal government of the United States
|
| legalEffect | attempted to criminalize expressive conduct involving the flag ⓘ |
| legalStatus | unconstitutional ⓘ |
| legislativeBody | United States Congress ⓘ |
| notableFor |
being struck down shortly after enactment
ⓘ
testing the limits of government power to regulate symbolic speech ⓘ |
| penaltyType | criminal penalties ⓘ |
| prohibitedAction |
burning the United States flag
ⓘ
defacing the United States flag ⓘ knowingly mutilating the United States flag ⓘ physically defiling the United States flag ⓘ trampling upon the United States flag ⓘ |
| purpose | to criminalize desecration of the United States flag ⓘ |
| reasonForEnactment | Congressional response to Texas v. Johnson decision ⓘ |
| reasonForUnconstitutionality | violated freedom of expression under the First Amendment ⓘ |
| relatedConcept |
flag burning
ⓘ
flag desecration laws in the United States ⓘ symbolic speech ⓘ |
| replacedOrSuperseded | previous federal flag desecration statutes ⓘ |
| scope |
applied to flags owned by private persons
ⓘ
applied to flags owned by the government ⓘ |
| statusAfterCourtRuling | unenforceable ⓘ |
| subject | flag desecration ⓘ |
| typeOfRestriction | content-based restriction on expression ⓘ |
| wasEnactedAfter | Texas v. Johnson NERFINISHED ⓘ |
Referenced by (1)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.