Case Categories: Expressive Conduct / Symbolic Speech

• Anderson v. City of Hermosa Beach (9th Circuit) (2010)

  In this decision, a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals struck down a California city’s ban on tattoo parlors. The appeals court ruled...

• Buehrle v. City of Key West (11th Cir.) (2015)

  In Buehrle v. City of Key West, the 11th Circuit said the city couldn't ban new tattoo parlors in its historic district without running afoul of the First...

• Clark v. Community for Creative Non-Violence (1984)

  The Supreme Court in 1984 agreed that camping in tents across from the White House to highlight homelessness was symbolic speech, but upheld National Park...

• Spence v. Washington (1974)

  In 1974, the Supreme Court held that the First Amendment protects the right to desecrate the American flag as a form of symbolic protest. In Spence v....

• Stromberg v. California (1931)

  The Supreme Court in 1931 overturned the conviction of a California woman for flying the red flag of the Soviet Union. In Stromberg v. California, the Court...

• Texas v. Johnson (1989)

  Texas v. Johnson (1989) struck down on First Amendment grounds a flag desecration law. The has decision served as the crux of the debate about burning of the U....

• Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District (1969)

  Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District (1969) established that public school students have First Amendment rights. It is the seminal...

• United States v. O'Brien (1968)

  The Supreme Court in 1968 upheld a law that prohibited the mutilation of draft cards against a challenge by an anti-war protester who said it violated his First...

• Village of Skokie v. National Socialist Party of America (Ill) (1978)

  The decision in Village of Skokie v. National Socialist Party of America, 373 N. E. 2d 21 (Ill. 1978) would set the foundation for later hate speech cases...

• Virginia v. Black (2003)

  Virginia v. Black (2003) upheld a statute making it illegal to burn a cross in public to intimidate others. Cross burning was a true threat unprotected by the...