Legal Opinion
People v. Street
New York Court of Appeals
Decided July 7, 1967PublishedCited by 14 opinions
1Opinion of the Court
Chief Judge Fuld.
We are called upon to decide whether the deliberate act of burning an American flag in public as a 1 ‘ protest ’ ’ may be punished as a crime.
On June 6, 1966, after hearing on the radio that James Meredith, the civil rights leader, had been shot by a sniper in Mississippi while participating in a civil rights ‘ ‘ march ’ ’, the defendant — a decorated World War II veteran — decided to express his indignation and publicly to protest the tragic happening by burning an American flag. Owning two — one with 50 stars, the other with 48 — he selected the latter and burned it on a…
2Cases cited26 opinions
- Chaplinsky v. New HampshireSupreme Court of the United States · 1942
- West Virginia State Board of Education v. BarnetteSupreme Court of the United States · 1943
- Thornhill v. AlabamaSupreme Court of the United States · 1940
- Cox v. LouisianaSupreme Court of the United States · 1965
- Stromberg v. CaliforniaSupreme Court of the United States · 1931
21 more not listed; retrieve them via the Exa API.
3Cited by14 opinions
- Street v. New YorkSupreme Court of the United States · 1969
- People v. CowgillAppellate Division of the Superior Court of California · 1969
- People v. O'SullivanAppellate Terms of the Supreme Court of New York · 1978
- State v. SaionzOhio Court of Appeals · 1969
- United States Ex Rel. Radich v. Criminal Ct. of NYDistrict Court, S.D. New York · 1974
9 more not listed; retrieve them via the Exa API.