| United States v. Eichman | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Argued May 14, 1990 Decided June 11, 1990 | |
| Full case name | United States v. Shawn D. Eichman, David Gerald Blalock and Scott W. Tyler; United States v. Mark John Haggerty, Carlos Garza, Jennifer Proctor Campbell and Darius Allen Strong |
| Citations | 496 U.S. 310 (more) 110 S. Ct. 2404; 110 L. Ed. 2d 287 |
| Case history | |
| Prior | United States v. Eichman, 731 F. Supp. 1123 (D.D.C. 1990); United States v. Haggerty, 731 F. Supp. 415 (W.D. Wash. 1990); consolidated, probable jurisdiction noted, 494 U.S. 1063 (1990). |
| Holding | |
| The interest on the part of the government to protect the American flag as a symbol did not outweigh the individual right to disparage that symbol through expressive conduct. The Flag Protection Act of 1989 is unconstitutional. | |
| Court membership | |
| |
| Case opinions | |
| Majority | Brennan, joined by Marshall, Blackmun, Scalia, Kennedy |
| Dissent | Stevens, joined by Rehnquist, White, O'Connor |
| Laws applied | |
| U.S. Const. amend. I; Flag Protection Act | |
United States v. Eichman, 496 U.S. 310 (1990), was a United States Supreme Court case that by a 5–4 decision invalidated a federal law against flag desecration as a violation of free speech under the First Amendment.[1] It was argued together with the case United States v. Haggerty. It built on the opinion handed down in the Court's decision the prior year in Texas v. Johnson (1989), which invalidated on First Amendment grounds a Texas state statute banning flag burning.[2]
- ^ United States v. Eichman, 496 U.S. 310 (1990).
This article incorporates public domain material from this U.S government document.
- ^ Texas v. Johnson, 491 U.S. 397 (1989).
