Flag burning and free speech : the case of Texas v. Johnson / Robert Justin Goldstein.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Goldstein, Robert Justin.

Series:

Landmark law cases & American society

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Johnson, Gregory Lee--Trials, litigation, etc.

Johnson, Gregory Lee.

Flags--Desecration.

Texas--Trials, litigation, etc.

Texas.

Freedom of speech--United States.

Freedom of speech.

United States.

Flags--Desecration--United States.

Flags.

Physical Description:

xviii, 269 pages ; 23 cm.

Place of Publication:

Lawrence, Kan. : University Press of Kansas, [2000]

Summary:

When Gregory Lee Johnson burned an American flag as part of a political protest, he was convicted for flag desecration under Texas law. But the Supreme Court, by a contentious 5 to margin, overturned that conviction, claiming that Johnson's action constituted symbolic -- and thus protected -- speech. Heated debate continues to swirl around that controversial decision, both hailed as a victory for free speech advocates and reviled as an abomination that erodes the patriotic foundations of American democracy. Such passionate yet contradictory views are at the heart of this landmark case.

Contents:

1. The Early History of the American Flag Desecration Controversy 1

2. Flag Desecration Laws and Prosecutions, 1897-1980 20

3. The Texas Flag Burning Trials of Gregory Lee Johnson, 1984-1988 44

4. The Supreme Court and Texas v. Johnson, Fall 1988-Spring 1989 81

5. The Post-Johnson Firestorm, Summer 1989 108

6. The Congressional Debate on Responding to Johnson, July-October 1989 128

7. Testing the Flag Protection Act in the Courts, October 1989-May 1990 172

8. The Eichman Ruling and Its Aftermath, June 1990 206

9. From Eichman to the New Millennium, June 1990-Spring 2000 226.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 259-262) and index.

ISBN:

0700610537

0700610545

OCLC:

44089416