Flag Burning and Free Speech : The Case of Texas vs. Johnson

by Goldstein, Robert Justin

• ISBN13: 9780700610532
• ISBN10: 0700610537
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2000-11-01
• Publisher: Univ Pr of Kansas

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. Book jacket.

Author Biography

Robert Justin Goldstein is professor of political science at Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan

Table of Contents

Editors' Preface	vii
Preface	xi
The Early History of the American Flag Desecration Controversy	1	(19)
Flag Desecration Laws and Prosecutions, 1897-1980	20	(24)
The Texas Flag Burning Trials of Gregory Lee Johnson, 1984-1988	44	(37)
The Supreme Court and Texas v. Johnson, Fall 1988-Spring 1989	81	(27)
The Post-Johnson Firestorm, Summer 1989	108	(20)
The Congressional Debate on Responding to Johnson, July-October 1989	128	(44)
Testing the Flag Protection Act in the Courts, October 1989-May 1990	172	(34)
The Eichman Ruling and Its Aftermath, June 1990	206	(20)
From Eichman to the New Millennium, June 1990-Spring 2000	226	(29)
Chronology	255	(4)
Bibliographical Essay	259	(4)
Index	263