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Question: History please help!?
how the supreme court decision affected our rights under this amendment one!?
To protest national policies johnson doused a united states flag with kerosene and burned it outside the 1984 republican national convention in dallas!. he was arrested and convicted under a texas law prohibiting the desecration to the texas and united states flags!.the court ruled that the texas laws placed an unconstitutional limit on freedom of expression noting that nothing in our precedents suggests that a state may foster its own view of the flag by prohibiting expressive conduct relating it!.Www@QuestionHome@Com
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To some degree one could assert that the use of 'free speech has changed!. Initially (constitutionally) it was emphasized differently that free speech in England to support political involvement!. In England those elected to parliament were totally protected in speech so that they could say what they wished without repercussions!. Clearly this made sense then and now, however, in England of those times this included limiting what could be said against those elected!. This had the unintended consequence of limiting what could be said about the incumbent during a campaign process!. This even extended to stating what were ‘true’ statements about the incumbent, that is, the court (English) opined that if the statement was true (about what the incumbent stated) and was detrimental, then it could not be said because it would do harm to the incumbent!.
In America, free speech was focused on creating a situation where political campaign would be more open and the challenger could state whatever they wanted!.
Over time situations occurred where cases went to court and increasingly limited that free speech!. In Robertson v!. Baldwin [1897] opined that, “the freedom of speech and of the press does not permit the publications of libels, blasphemous or indecent articles, or other publications injurious to public morals or private reputation!.”
Then in Toledo Newspaper Co!. v!. United States [1918] the court stated in part, “It suffices to say that, however complete is the right of the press to state public things and discuss them, that right, as every other right enjoyed in human society, is subject to the restraints which separate right from wrong-doing!.”
I believe that it is fair to make the case that in those times burning the flag would likely not have been allowed by the court!. By 1984 the court had evolved to create a different view of freedom of speech!.
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