Nate Coady Coady 1

Brandes/Baker
English 4/U.S. Government
17 December 2018

Texas vs. Johnson - 1989

Dallas Texas, August 1984. Home of the annual Republican National Convention. At the
center of it all, presidential candidate Ronald Reagan, trying to get America’s vote for another
four years in the oval office. However, the most infamous part of the convention wasn't Reagan
himself, but the protests against him. A group of the Revolutionary Communist Youth Brigade
spent their day not idolizing the candidate, but verbally attacking him and protesting his policies.
The group began marching towards the convention center, during which they began to break
windows, throw beer cans and soiled diapers, as well as shout ​"Reagan, Mondale, which will it
be? Either one means World War III." ​ The group made their way to Dallas City Hall, and once
arriving at the steps, they continued their violent actions and chants. Gary Lee Johnson who was
one of the protestors, was handed an American flag, stolen from a flagpole of a nearby building.
Johnson covered the flag in kerosene and lit in on fire, while shouting the continual verbal
attacks alongside the group. Johnson was arrested shortly after, as he violated the Texas law that
desecration of the American flag in Texas was not allowed. For Johnson’s conviction, the Texas
Court of Criminal Appeals stated that his actions were protected by the First Amendment, and
that him burning the flag was an act of free speech. ​"Recognizing that the right to differ is the
centerpiece of our First Amendment freedoms, a government cannot mandate by fiat a feeling of
unity in its citizens. Therefore that very same government cannot carve out a symbol of unity and
prescribe a set of approved messages to be associated with that symbol." ​(​Johnson​, 491 U.S. at
403.)​ The city of Texas wasn't happy with the verdict, and asked if the Supreme Court could hear
the case.

Is the desecration of an American flag, by burning it or otherwise, a form of speech that

is protected by the First Amendment? This was the question that the judges had to answer, as the
First Amendment was the only constitutional amendment that had been violated according to the
plaintiff. The first topic to discuss that was deemed by the judges, was that whether or not the
First Amendment protected physical acts, as Johnson felt that burning the flag constituted self
expression and free speech. It was decided that although this amendment refers to speech, the
amendment doesn’t stop at spoken or written word. The Supreme Court looked at cases
Stromberg vs California, and Tinker vs Des Moines for reference, as this same question was
asked in their hearings. In Stromberg vs California, they viewed the red flag as speech. In Tinker
vs Des Moines, they viewed the black armband as speech. For this case, the judges felt that
burned flag was speech. The bottom line was Johnson received a 5-4 decision in the Supreme
Court, as the majority had voted that Johnson’s actions were protected by the First Amendment.
The Court found that “​Johnson's burning of the flag constituted expressive conduct, permitting
him to invoke the First Amendment."​ (​Johnson​, 491 U.S. at 403.) As well as “​Occurring as it did
at the end of a demonstration coinciding with the Republican National Convention, the
expressive, overtly political nature of the conduct was both intentional and overwhelmingly
apparent." (​ ​Johnson​, syllabus.) Simply put, the Supreme Court saw that Johnson’s actions were
a form of speech, thus being that his actions were protected by the First Amendment. After this
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case was resolved, the case and its rulings affected American citizens in a positive way. It
showed that you can stand up and display your beliefs through not just spoken or written word. If
you want to use some form of physical action to get your point across, the First Amendment
protects those actions. This ruling has also taken a role in today's day and age, as in 2016 during
the Republican National Convention in Cleveland. Thousands of people came together and
protested against Donald Trump very similar to 1984 with Ronald Reagan. I think that this court
ruling has shown America to stand up for what they believe in, and that they will always have
accessibility in standing up for themselves.
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Work Cited
Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. “Texas v. Johnson.” ​Encyclopædia Britannica​,
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 14 June 2018, www.britannica.com/event/Texas-v-Johnson.

, www.oyez.org/cases/1988/88-155.

“Spence v. Washington, 418 U.S. 405 (1974).” ​Justia Law​,

supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/418/405/.

Shackelford, Kelly. “Mary Beth and John Tinker and Tinker v. Des Moines: Opening the
Schoolhouse Gates to First Amendment Freedom.” ​The Canadian Journal of Chemical
Engineering,​ Wiley-Blackwell, 2 Nov. 2014,
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1540-5818.2014.12054.x.