Texas v. Johnson 491 U.S. 397 (1989)
 
reproduced from http://www.freedomforum.org/news/ 2000/12/2000-12-05-04.htm
 
A TIPS WebQuest by Ashish Kapadia
Jane Addams Vocational High School
 
Introduction:
The year is 1984.  The city is Dallas, Texas.  President Ronald Reagan is running for re-election.  The Republicans are meeting during the summer at the national nominating convention where the President, Vice-President George Bush Sr., and other high-ranking members of the political party are giving speeches to build support for their campaign.  As with any political party convention, there are protestors outside who wish to express their resentment and outrage for Republican beliefs and President Reagan’s policies.  The passions of the protestors grow and police are on the scene to make sure the events do not spin out of control. Suddenly a small fire breaks out.  People realize that Gregory Johnson is burning a flag of the
United States.  No one is physically hurt but many people in the area were outraged.  He is immediately arrested, taken away by the police, and charged with violating Texas’s law that prohibits the desecration of any state or national flag.  He is put on trial, found guilty, and sentenced to one year in jail.  Through a series of appeals, the case reaches the United States Supreme Court.

Your group is one of the nine justices who must decide if Johnson should remain in jail or should be released because the Texas law against flag burning is unconstitutional.  The other eight justices are evenly split 4-4.
 
 
Task:  Each group will research this landmark case about freedom of speech.  The group will analyze the facts of the case, understand the constitutional arguments within the case, and synthesize the decision of the Supreme Court.  The group will utilize CompuLEGAL, the internet and technology to present the case in a manner in which the student must evaluate the circumstances and the law to act as a member of the Supreme Court.
 
 
Process:
1.  You will read about the Texas v. Johnson case at the CompuLEGAL website (see Resources below) to become familiar with the facts of the case, the constitutional arguments made by both sides of the issue, and the decision of the U.S. Supreme Court.  You should conduct further research to expand your knowledge of the case.
 
2.  Your group must create a Microsoft PowerPoint presentation with numerous slides.  Your group should have one slide each to convey your understanding of:
1) the complete facts of the case,
2) the arguments made by Gregory Johnson as to why Texas’s law against flag burning is unconstitutional
3) the arguments made by Texas as to why Texas’s law does not go against the U.S. Constitution, making Johnson’s action a legitimate crime
4) your decision as the ninth justice to decide the case
5) your reasoning as to what legal factors helped you to make your decision
6) the actual decision of the United States Supreme Court
7) the reasoning as to why the Supreme Court decided the way it did
8) the lasting impact that this case has had with regard to the freedom of speech
9) the works cited for your group
Your group may wish to include any graphics, designs, or creative art that add to your presentation. Your project must be handed in on a disk.
 
 

 
Resources:
Websites—
Texas v. Johnson by CompuLEGAL
Prentice Hall-School's Site on Texas v. Johnson
ACLU of Montana's page on Texas v. Johnson
ACLU's pamphlet about Texas v. Johnson
Oral arguments presented in Texas v. Johnson
Web Page on flag burning
Citizen's Flag Alliance--organization to protect the U.S. flag
The Constitution

Books—
Burning the Flag : The Great 1989-1990 American Flag Desecration Controversy by Robert Justin Goldstein (1996)
Desecrating the American Flag : Key Documents of the Controversy from the Civil War to 1995 edited by Robert Justin Goldstein (1996)
Texas v. Johnson : The Flag-Burning Case (Landmark Supreme Court Cases) by J. Anthony Miller (1997)
Texas v. Johnson : Defending the Flag (Historic Supreme Court Cases) by Nancy Tompkins (1997)
Saving 'Old Glory' : The History of the American Flag Desecration Controversy by Robert Justin Goldstein (1994)
Democracy and the Problem of Free Speech by Cass R. Sunstein (1993)
 
 
Evaluation:
This project is worth 25% of the marking period grade and is due in three weeks.
The grading rubric is:
 

Objectives	Low Performance	Below Average	Average	Above Average	Exemplary Performance
Facts of the Case	0 points Shows little to no understanding of the facts of the case.	8 points Shows minimal understanding of the facts of the case.	12 points Shows satisfactory understanding of the facts of the case.	16 points Shows firm understanding of the relevant facts of the case.	20 points Shows complete understanding of all relevant facts and legal basis for the case.
Arguments of the Case	0 points Shows little to no understanding of the controversy.	8 points Shows minimal understanding of the controversy.	12 points Shows satisfactory understanding of the controversy.	16 points Shows firm understanding of the controversy from both parties' point of view.	20 points Shows complete understanding of the legal issue and the legal arguments for both parties.
Your Decision and Rationale	0 points No decision.	8 points Partial decision to the issue	12 points Complete decision to the issue question with slight writing errors.	16 points Complete decision to the issue that is reasonable and written with minimal errors.	20 points Complete decision to the issue that is reasonable and written well.
Supreme Court Decision & Rationale	0 points No decision.	8 points Partial decision to the issue	12 points Complete decision to the issue question with slight writing errors.	16 points Complete decision to the issue that is reasonable and written with minimal errors.	20 points Complete decision to the issue that is reasonable and written well.
Effect on freedom of speech	0 points No effect given.	8 points Shows some understanding of the effects of the case on the freedom of speech.	12 points Shows fair understanding of the effects of the case on the freedom of speech.	16 points Shows strong understanding of the effects of the case on the freedom of speech.	20 points Shows complete understanding of the effects of the case on the freedom of speech.

Note: An incomplete or missing Works Cited will result in a loss of 5 or 10 points, respectively.
 
This project complies with New York State Social Studies Standards 1 & 5, and English Standards 1, 3, & 4.

Social Studies Standard 1: History of the United States and New York--use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of major ideas, eras, themes, developments, and turning points in the history of the United States and New York.

Social Studies Standard 5: Civics, Citizenship, and Government--use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of the necessity for establishing governments; the governmental system of the U.S. and other nations; the U.S. Constitution; the basic civic values of American constitutional democracy; and the roles, rights, and responsibilities of citizenship, including avenues of participation.

English Language Arts Standard 1: Students will read, write, listen, and speak for information and understanding.
As listeners and readers, students will collect data, facts, and ideas, discover relationships, concepts, and generalizations; and use knowledge generated from oral, written, and electronically produced texts. As speakers and writers, they will use oral and written language to acquire, interpret, apply, and transmit information.

English Language Arts Standard 3: Students will read, write, listen, and speak for critical analysis and evaluation.
As listeners and readers, students will analyze experiences, ideas, information, and issues presented by others using a variety of established criteria. As speakers and writers, they will present, in oral and written language and from a variety of perspectives, their opinions and judgments on experiences, ideas, information and issues.

English Language Arts Standard 4: Students will read, write, listen, and speak for social interaction.
Students will use oral and written language for effective social communication with a wide variety of people. As readers and listeners, they will use the social communications of others to enrich their understanding of people and their views.

 
 
Conclusion:  Remember that the point of this project is for you to understand the issue and arguments made by both sides in this case so that you can make your own evaluation of what the Supreme Court should do.  Make sure to include a thorough discussion of how this case affects the freedom of speech.  Don’t expect to find a solution that will please everyone. Controversial issues are never fully solved; they continue to be discussed. Note: Start with the CompuLEGAL website.