The Georgia statute under which Country Joe was arrested made it a crime "to wear the uniform of the armed forces of the United States in any way that brings discredit upon that armed force. Further, the uniform may not be used in any way that advocates the overthrow of the government of the United States by force. Further, the uniform may not be defaced, mutilated or treated in a contemptuous manner." The question in this case is not whether Country Joe violated the Georgia statute, but whether the law is constitutional.

Following the standards set forth in Texas v. Johnson, we must first establish that Country Joe's actions constituted expressive conduct. Next, if his conduct was expressive, we must decide whether the state statute is related to suppression of free speech. If the statute

Pols 4131, Freedom of Expression Hypothetical; Bill Thomas

The second clause of the Georgia statute, which outlaws wearing a military uniform while advocating the overthrow of the government, is also unconstitutional. Two cases can be used to show the unconstitutional value of this clause: Spence v. Washington and Brandenburg v. Ohio. Spence involved a man, Harold Spence, affixing a peace symbol to both sides of the U.S. flag in protest of the killings in Cambodia and at Kent State University. He was arrested for "improper use" of the flag. The Court held the state's "improper use" statute unconstitutional because it "...impermissibly infringed a form of protected expression." At issue here was the improper use of the American flag. The state felt as though the flag should promote a sense of nationhood and not be used for protest. Harold Spence, however, felt the flag was the perfect symbol to use in making his point. The Court agreed. In a Per Curiam decision, the Court held that "...the context in which a symbol is used for purposes of expression is important, for the context may give meaning to the symbol." The same holds true for Country Joe. Country Joe wore the army uniform as a symbol. Therefore, his wearing the uniform gave context for the meaning of the symbol.

Street v. New York, 394 U.S. 576 (1969)

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page double spaced)