Gregory Lee Johnson burned an American flag as means of protest against Reagan Administration Policies

Stated that this was a violation of the first amendment

Is the desecration of an American flag, by burning or otherwise, a form of speech that is protected under the First Amendment?

March 21, 1989: goes to Supreme CourtJune 21, 1989: final decision is madeDistrict court: sentenced Johnson to a year

and $2,000 fineCourt of Appeals: affirmed this decisionCourt of Criminal Appeals: reversed decision

and sends it to the Supreme Court

Burning of a flag is protected under your first amendment right

State could not criminally sanction flag desecration in order to preserve the flag as a symbol of national unity

Tedford, Thomas L., and Dale A. Herbeck. "Texas v. Johnson (1989)." Boston College. Strata Publishing Inc. Web. 07 Mar. 2012. <http://www.bc.edu/bc_org/avp/cas/comm/free_speech/texas.html>.

TEXAS v. JOHNSON. The Oyez Project at IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law. 03 March 2012. <http://www.oyez.org/cases/1980-1989/1988/1988_88_155>.