June 21, 1989: The Supreme Court rules that burning the U.S. flag is protected

Saturday 21 June 2008

In 1984, Gregory Lee Johnson was convicted under a Texas law that outlawed flag desecration, 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. In Texas v. Johnson, the Court decided the act of flag burning is protected speech under the First Amendment. The Court also decided the government may not prohibit the expression of an idea just because society finds the idea offensive or disagreeable.