Two Court Cases involving the First Amndement
1. Freedom of Speech (2002)
In 2007 there was a court case which involved the belief that there was a violation of the first amendment when a high school student displayed a sign during a non school/public event that was deciphered by his school as pro drug and, of course, inappropriate in their terms. The student was suspended from school and thus sparked the court case in which it was believed that his rights were not respected/violated. Overall, the court decided that the school was justified in suspending the student. Personally, I do not agree with the court's decision. I think that this was a violation of his freedom of speech and that the school did not have the right to punish him for it, especially since the place where he held the sign had nothing to do with the school campus/was not related to a school activity in any way. In the future, I think the amendment should be respected as it has been written. We all have to right to express ourselves in which ever manner we wish to and we should not be penalized for it, especially when it is not deserved. This relates to my rights as a student because I would never want to be punished by my school for expressing my right on something that is completely not related to school.
2. Freedom of Expression (1989)
In 1989, a man walked the streets during a protest against Ronald Reagand's political policies. This man proceeded protesting and then burned a American flag that he was holding, immediately putting him in the middle of a court case that he would have sparked. Johnson (the man who burned the flag) was charged for destroying such a meaningful item to the United States, however it was also noted during the court case that technically, arresting him is breaking his right to the first amendment in which people have the right to express themselves in any form. In the end, the court realized that they could not charge him because of the first amendment which protected his rights. Personally, I agree with the court's decision. They could not do anything even if they wanted to because his actions were technically his, crude, self expressions. I still think it was smart for them, however to stay true to the amendment and secure everyone's rights. In the future I think this amendment should still be applied here, where it protects the freedom of one's expression. This court case relates to me as a student because I would like to know that the Declaration of Independence is till protecting many today, and that I do have the ability to argue back in court if I am wrongly accused for my freedom of expression.
In 2007 there was a court case which involved the belief that there was a violation of the first amendment when a high school student displayed a sign during a non school/public event that was deciphered by his school as pro drug and, of course, inappropriate in their terms. The student was suspended from school and thus sparked the court case in which it was believed that his rights were not respected/violated. Overall, the court decided that the school was justified in suspending the student. Personally, I do not agree with the court's decision. I think that this was a violation of his freedom of speech and that the school did not have the right to punish him for it, especially since the place where he held the sign had nothing to do with the school campus/was not related to a school activity in any way. In the future, I think the amendment should be respected as it has been written. We all have to right to express ourselves in which ever manner we wish to and we should not be penalized for it, especially when it is not deserved. This relates to my rights as a student because I would never want to be punished by my school for expressing my right on something that is completely not related to school.
2. Freedom of Expression (1989)
In 1989, a man walked the streets during a protest against Ronald Reagand's political policies. This man proceeded protesting and then burned a American flag that he was holding, immediately putting him in the middle of a court case that he would have sparked. Johnson (the man who burned the flag) was charged for destroying such a meaningful item to the United States, however it was also noted during the court case that technically, arresting him is breaking his right to the first amendment in which people have the right to express themselves in any form. In the end, the court realized that they could not charge him because of the first amendment which protected his rights. Personally, I agree with the court's decision. They could not do anything even if they wanted to because his actions were technically his, crude, self expressions. I still think it was smart for them, however to stay true to the amendment and secure everyone's rights. In the future I think this amendment should still be applied here, where it protects the freedom of one's expression. This court case relates to me as a student because I would like to know that the Declaration of Independence is till protecting many today, and that I do have the ability to argue back in court if I am wrongly accused for my freedom of expression.