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Texas vs. Johnson and Tinker vs. Des Moines

Texas vs. Johnson and Tinker vs. Des Moines. By Emily Franklin. Protected Speech:. Listed in the 1 st amendment Some limits on freedom of speech: Speech that presents a clear and present danger Speech that presents a credible threat Obscene speech Libel Slander

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Texas vs. Johnson and Tinker vs. Des Moines

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  1. Texas vs. Johnson and Tinker vs. Des Moines By Emily Franklin

  2. Protected Speech: • Listed in the 1st amendment • Some limits on freedom of speech: • Speech that presents a clear and present danger • Speech that presents a credible threat • Obscene speech • Libel • Slander • Speech that incites crime

  3. Protected Speech (Cont’d): • “Speech” does not just refer to spoken words • Encompasses actions that make a statement such as wearing a certain article of clothing or the burning of a flag.

  4. Texas vs. Johnson: Background • In 1984, in front of the Dallas City Hall, Gregory Lee Johnson burned an American flag as a means of protest against Reagan administration policies. • Johnson was tried and convicted under a Texas law outlawing flag desecration. • He was sentenced to one year in jail and assessed a $2,000 fine. • After the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals reversed the conviction, the case went to the Supreme Court.

  5. Texas vs. Johnson: Legal Question • Is the desecration of an American flag, by burning or otherwise, a form of speech that is protected under the First Amendment?

  6. Texas vs. Johnson: Decision • 5 votes for Johnson, 4 votes against • The Court determined that Johnson's burning of a flag was protected expression under the First Amendment • Found that Johnson's actions fell into the category of expressive conduct and had a distinctively political nature

  7. Texas vs. Johnson: Decision • The Court found that just because an audience takes offense to certain ideas or expression does not justify a prohibition of speech.

  8. Tinker vs. Des Moines: Background • John Tinker, 15 years old, his sister Mary Beth Tinker, 13 years old, and Christopher Echardt, 16 years old, decided along with their parents to protest the Vietnam War by wearing black armbands to their Des Moines schools. • Fearing that the armbands would provoke disturbances, the principals of the Des Moines school district concluded that all students wearing armbands be asked to remove them or face suspension. • The students wore them anyways and were consequently suspended until after New Year’s Day.

  9. Tinker vs. Des Moines: Legal Question • Does a prohibition against the wearing of armbands in public school, as a form of symbolic protest, violate the First Amendment's freedom of speech protections?

  10. Tinker vs. Des Moines: Decision • 7 votes for Tinker, 2 votes against • The wearing of armbands was similar to “pure speech" and protected by the First Amendment. • School environments imply limitations on free expression, but here the principals lacked justification for imposing any such limits.

  11. Tinker vs. Des Moines: Decision • The principals had failed to show that the wearing of the armbands would significantly interfere with appropriate school discipline.

  12. Citations • http://www.oyez.org/cases/1980-1989/1988/1988_88_155/ • http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/historics/USSC_CR_0491_0397_ZS.html • http://www.oyez.org/cases/1960-1969/1968/1968_21 • http://www.bc.edu/bc_org/avp/cas/comm/free_speech/tinker.html

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