Supreme Court decisions

Question: Compare and contrast the Supreme Court’s decisions and reasoning in, respectively, United States v. O’Brien (1968), Texas v. Johnson (1989), and Barnes v. Glen Theater (1991). Is the Court consistent in its reasoning across these three cases? In other words, according to the Court, why can the government criminalize Mr. O’Brien’s burning of his draft documents, not criminalize Mr. Johnson’s burning of the American flag, and criminalize Darlene Miller’s completely nude dancing in a strip club? Overall, do you think that the Court’s reasoning across these three cases make sense? Is each case rightly decided? Why or why not? Suggestions: In thinking about this task, you might also want to consider the following questions: What is “symbolic speech”? What is the problem here? How does the Court try to address the problem of symbolic speech in O’Brien? Does that resolution, in the form of “the O’Brien test,” make sense? Are the Court’s judgments about the “government’s interest” in these three cases plausible? Are those interests really “substantial”?; are they really “related or unrelated to expression”? Are these judgments correct? How does the O’Brien case matter in Texas v. Johnson and Barnes v. Glen Theater? How are these three cases similar and different? Consider how the lawyers for each side in Johnson would try to respond to the “precedent” the Court sets in O’Brien, or how the lawyers for each side in Barnes would respond to O’Brien and Johnson considered together. Of course, you cannot respond to each of these additional questions separately and specifically. What we are looking for, first, is a reasonably detailed, critical review of each case focused on the Court’s reasoning and a careful comparison of the basic, relevant facts and arguments in the three cases, and, second, an overall, sustained argument in response to the questions under “Assignment” above. It would be helpful to develop a thesis statement and to set it forth at or near the beginning or your essay. The thesis statement provides the reader with the basic point or position you will take and defend in your paper. The form of this statement can be simple and direct (“In this essay, I will argue that...”), or you might be more imaginative about how you present your basic argument. But at some point early on in an argumentative essay, the reader should have an idea of what your argument will be. Good writing counts a bit: (a) use the active voice; (b) proofread and spell check for mistakes; (c) remember that good writing is re-writing; and, (d) above all, be clear. NO PLAGIARISM Works cited labeled in MLA and put at the end 4 1/2 pages double spaced Answer all of the questions throughout essay