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Freedom of speech definition
Definition of freedom speech
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The case of California v. Greenwood involves police who were investigating a potential drug trafficker, Greenwood. The police, who were acting on information that suggested that Greenwood could possibly be engaged in narcotics trafficking, obtained trash that Greenwood had left on the curb in front of his home. Considering the trash included items indicative of narcotics use, the police then obtained warrants to search Greenwood’s home, discovered controlled substances during their searches, and subsequently arrested respondents on felony narcotics charges. The issue in this case was whether the Fourth Amendment prohibits the warrantless search and seizure of trash left for collection outside the curtilage of a home.
Although nobody was physically harmed, the flag burning offended many witnesses. As a result, “Johnson was convicted of desecration of a venerated object in violation of a Texas statute, and a state court of appeals affirmed. However, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals reversed, holding that the State, consistent with the First Amendment, could not punish Johnson for burning the flag in these circumstances.” This reflects judicial restraint because the United States v. Eichman Court decision faithfully applied the precedent and honored the prior Court decision from the 1989 Texas v. Johnson case.
The 1st amendment “The First Amendment guarantees freedoms concerning religion, expression, assembly, and the right to petition.” (First amendment, 1789) Which means that he has his own freedom of what to talk. Moreover, there was a case in taxes that a man called Gregory L. Johnson burned the USA flag as a way of his protesting. This time, the Supreme Court stated that “In a controversial decision, the Supreme Court, by the closest possible margin of a 5-to-4 vote, held that a person has a right to express disagreement with governmental policies by burning the American flag.”
In Texas v. Johnson the court ruled that courts cannot limit freedom of speech solely because the thing being said is offensive or disagreeable to others. I agree with the courts on these last two rulings when comparing them to Fields case because I believe that Fields has the right to freedom of speech even if his speech contained a false statement. I believe that Fields’ statement although morally wrong, was not an act of malaise and did not cause harm to any individual. I think that most people would agree that what Fields said was morally wrong and was hurtful to those who have fought and been injured to protect our freedom here in the United States of
People have the tendency to take the First Amendment for granted, but some tend to use it to their favor. Stanley Fish presents his main argument about how people misuse this amendment for all their conflicts involving from racial issues to current political affairs in his article, Free-Speech Follies. His article involves those who misinterpret the First Amendment as their own works or constantly use it as an excuse to express their attitudes and desires about a certain subject matter. He expresses his personal opinions against those who consistently use the First Amendment as a weapon to defend themselves from harm of criticism.
A 5-to-4 decision held that Johnson's burning of a flag was protected expression under the First Amendment and all charges were dropped. In response to this ruling Congress passed the Flag Protection Act Of 1989. “The act states that ‘whoever knowingly mutilates, defaces, physically defiles, burns, maintains on the floor or ground, or tramples upon any flag of the United States shall be fined under this title or imprisoned for not more than one year, or both.’ The act does not prohibit any conduct consisting of the disposal of a flag when it has become worn or soiled." (1989).
Arriving at the Dallas City Hall in 1984, demonstrator Gregory Lee Johnson doused the American flag with kerosene and set it ablaze (Texas v. Johnson). All through history, protestors have participated in many different actions to get their point across. The question stands: Have protestors gone too far by burning the flag? The flag is a national symbol, but by burning the flag a person is not harming the country in any way: therefore flag burning should not be illegal. Flag burning has been used to portray a protestor’s strong, negative feelings towards the American government.
Once again the issue over ones' right to burn the American flag has become a heated debate in the United States. In 1989 the Supreme Court struck down a Texas State law that prohibited the destruction of the American flag. The Supreme Court ruled that the Texas law violated the First Amendment. To avoid any other flag burning cases, the U.S. Congress passed 'The Flag Protection Act of
The author states on lines 37-39 "The way to preserve the flag special role is not to punish those who feed differently matter. It is to persuade them that they are wrong." Because of this we can't punish or treat others differently because of what their opinions/beliefs we can only try persuading them without offending. Second, on lines 40-43 for "American Flag Stands for Tolerance" it states "My point is that freedom of conscience and expression is at the core of ourselves conception and requires the rejection of official dogma." This demonstrates that having freedom could cause people rejection which people won't think the same and could lead to disagreements.
The law in Texas at the time banned flag burnings. He was convicted, and the case was appealed to the Supreme Court. We ruled that Johnson’s right to free speech had been violated. He was expressing symbolic speech. We ruled that even though an opinion is unpopular, doesn’t mean we have the right to restrict his freedom of
The Supreme Court in 1989, ruled in favor of flag burning, that it was a protected form of free expression (Texas v. Johnson). In 1990, in another case the same holding was reiterated (U.S v. Eichman). According to the First Amendment of the United States Constitution, it states clearly that for a government (whether federal, state or municipality), it is unconstitutional to prohibit the desecration of a flag, due to its status as a “Symbolic Speech.” The Federal Flag Desecration Law was enacted that prohibited any action of “contempt” against the flag. Since then it has sparked a debate that has raged through American society, on should it be illegal to burn an American flag?
CRJU 1068 Should desecrating the American flag be illegal? The American flag is so loved because of what it represents; the land of the free. Unfortunately, that freedom also includes the ability to use or abuse that flag in protest.
However, the ban did not address the other issues dealt with by the state flag desecration laws. Gregory Lee Johnson convicted for burning a flag in protest against President Ronald Reagan's policies in Dallas, Texas in 1984 under Texas' flag desecration statute. (Hall, 2014) Congress opposed Johnson decision by passing the
The Importance of the 1st Amendment In 1787 our founding fathers assembled the constitution of the United States of America. Of this which contains the most important document to the American citizen, the Bill of rights. The first Amendment states: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances” These freedoms granted by the Bill of Rights are often known as freedom of expression. These rights are most important to a truly free society. The first amendment provides us with new ideas and dismisses the fear of punishment
Stop Burning the American Flag! Ronald Reagan once said, “When we honor our flag we honor what we stand for as a Nation - freedom, equality, justice, and hope.” The Texas v. Johnson case is a vast problem that seems to be overpowering in today’s society. Since the case began there have been flag burnings all over the country, and no one seems to be concerned since people are not getting disciplined. People should not be burning the flag that so many people fight and lost their lives for.