Is flag burning protected by the First Amendment? Can an individual be prosecuted for openly burning the American flag in a political protest? Gregory Johnson did so during a political protest outside Dallas City Hall. He was later tried and convicted of desecrating a venerated object under a Texas law (Penal Code 42.09), which states that “a person commits a crime if he or she willfully or knowingly desecrates a state or national flag” (317). The question of whether this Texas law violates the First Amendment, which "holds that Congress shall make no law... abridging the freedom of speech" (316), was brought before the U.S. Supreme Court in the Texas case v. Johnson (1989). A divided court ruled by a 5-4 vote that the Texas law violated the First Amendment. Using the same Constitution, precedents, and legal standards, the Supreme Court justices came to two drastically different positions regarding the constitutionality of the flag burning ban. To see how such a division is possible, we will compare and contrast both the arguments and methods of argument used by both the majority opinion (written by Associate Justice Brennan) and the dissenting opinion (written by Chief Justice Rehnquist), which criticizes the majority opinion. Surprisingly, both Associate Justice Brennan's majority opinion and Chief Justice Rehnquist's response, the dissenting opinion, cited Street v. New York to support their contradictory conclusions. In Street, the Supreme Court overturned the conviction of the defendant, who "burned a flag in the street and shouted 'We don't need no damn flag'" (323). Brennan argues that the precedent in this case supports the majority opinion: "[In Street] we are...... middle of paper......, but the appointment of a Supreme Court justice is lifelong. Works Cited Note: All documentation that includes only the page number refers to the opinions of Rehnquist and Brennan "Chicago v. Mosley." 1991. World Wide Web March 3, 2001. World Wide Web..O' Connor, Sandra D. "Boos v. Barry. " March 22, 1988. World Wide Web. March 3, 2001..Rehnquist, William H., Brennan, William J. "A Case on Law and Society: What Rights Do the First and Fourth Amendments Protect?" Current Issues and Enduring Questions : A guide to critical thinking and discussion with readings Ed. Sylvan Barnet and Hugo Bedau, 1999. 316-324.