United States Vs Eichman Essay

United States v. Eichman “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” (Texas). At the time, Texas law made any desecration of the American flag illegal. Johnson was sentenced to one year in jail and was fined two thousand dollars. Johnson took this to court and after the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals reversed the conviction, the case went to the Supreme Court in 1989. 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). Immediately after the Flag Protection Act was passed, people took to the streets and protested. Eichman set a flag ablaze on the steps of the U.S. Capitol and was arrested

Justice Paul Steven was the allocate for the dissenting opinion. Their main point was ¨it is now conceded that the Federal Government has a legitimate interest in protecting the symbolic value of the American flag,” (LII) and that “the flag uniquely symbolizes the ideas of liberty, equality, and tolerance -- ideas that Americans have passionately defended and debated throughout our history. The flag embodies the spirit of our national commitment to those ideals” (LII). People today still debate is the burning of the flag should be protected under the first amendment or if it is a symbol of American and therefore should not be