Legal Question in Constitutional Law in Florida

I would think the courts ruling in the famous Texas Vs Johnson case. ie:(Flag Burning case a form of protected Symbolic Expression)

Decission Of the U.S. Supreme Court

Facts of the Case:

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.

Question:

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

Conclusion:

In a 5-to-4 decision, the Court held that Johnson's burning of a flag was protected expression under the First Amendment. The Court found that Johnson's actions fell into the category of expressive conduct and had a distinctively political nature. The fact that an audience takes offense to certain ideas or expression, the Court found, does not justify prohibitions of speech. The Court also held that state officials did not have the authority to designate symbols to be used to communicate only limited sets of messages, noting that "[I]f there is a bedrock principle underlying the First Amendment, it is that the Government may not prohibit the expression of an idea simply because society finds the idea itself offensive or disagreeable

Certainly:

If The Burning of the Flag is protected First Admendment right

Then :

Would Lighting Of Fireworks on Independence Day on private land be a form of protected Symbolic Expression!

All fireworks have been approved for sales and use by the the C.P.S.C a federal agency.

if it is a form of protected speach then can States block or prohibt access to the general public for that protected right?

Daniel Hunnewell


Asked on 6/10/10, 6:29 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Edward Hoffman Law Offices of Edward A. Hoffman

No. The difference between the two rules is that a ban on flag-burning is directed at a particular type of message while the ban on fireworks is a general ban related to safety. Laws that target speech or other expressive conduct because of its content are unconstitutional. Laws that just happen to inhibit some expression but that do not discriminate based upon content don't have this problem.

If the government were to ban, say, all outdoor fires during the dry season, then that ban would cover not only the burning of American flags but also of anything else. It would not be targeted at speech and would survive a court challenge as long as it was reasonably related to safety or to some other legitimate government interest.

The laws against flag burning are not even remotely related to safety or to any other legitimate purpose that is consistent with the First Amendment. They generally allowed people to burn other types of flags or other items that are similar to flags without penalty, so they were clearly not directed at fire safety. Their only purpose is to prevent people from expressing anger at the government in a particular way.

If the government were to specifically forbid the use of fireworks to celebrate Independence Day while allowing them for other purposes, then you might have a First Amendment issue. If the law allowed fireworks on other days and also allowed them on July 4 for purposes other then celebrating the holiday, then the ban would be targeted at expression based upon the message being expressed and would be unconstitutional.

In legal parlance, a general ban on all fireworks would qualify as a reasonable restriction on the time, place or manner of speech and would likely be upheld on that basis.

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Answered on 6/10/10, 12:30 pm


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