Paralegal Program: Analysis of First Amendment Cases - Week 3

This assignment from a paralegal program analyzes key cases related to the First Amendment, focusing on freedom of speech and religion, and their implications. The student provides case briefs for Texas v. Johnson (1989) and Miller v. California (1973), highlighting the Supreme Court's rulings on offensive speech and obscenity. The assignment also examines the Freedom of Religion clause, discussing Lemon v. Kurtzman and Stone v. Graham (1980) to explore the separation of church and state, and the establishment clause. The student demonstrates an understanding of the legal principles, the tests used by the courts, and the application of the First Amendment in these landmark cases. The assignment also covers the due process and equal protection aspects of the constitution.

Running head: PARALEGAL PROGRAM 1
Paralegal Program
Name:
Institutional Affiliation:

PARALEGAL PROGRAM 2
Paralegal Program
Question 1
The case Texas v. Johnson (1989) clearly demonstrates what freedom of speech is all
about. In this case, the Supreme Court ruled that the core principle that underlines the First
Amendment is that the government might not forbid the expression of any idea just because the
society discovers that the idea is offensive. In any case related to breach of First Amendment
makes courts to use scrutiny tests in determining the outcome, which is evident in this case. On
the other hand, in Miller v. California (1973), the Supreme Court placed a trial to find out the
type of speech or materials that are considered obscene. It was found that since obscenity varies
from one city to the other, it will be vital that obscenity be determined by the jury in the
community where the offender is being arraigned.
Question 2
The First Amendment also contains a Freedom of Religion clause, which also addresses
human rights. It gives the citizens the freedom to believe and practice any religious principle
without any interference from the government. The extent of being free to exercise Freedom of
Religion has been demonstrated in the following two cases that try to establish the separation of
church and state clause. This clause prevents the government from starting or compelling the
practice of any religion. Conversely, the government is allowed to extend benefits to religion as
supported by the Lemon v. Kurtzman case. The intension of this case was to determine whether
the law meets the prerequisites of the Establishment Clause. The Act’s allegation was that the
church-affiliated schools are managed by religious institutions, have the purpose of promoting
and propagating a specific religious faith, and perform their actions to achieve that purpose. The

PARALEGAL PROGRAM 3
three judges found that teachers at the Roman Catholic school were the sole beneficiaries under
the Act. Additionally, Court found that the unsophisticated school system was a vital part of the
religious mission of the Catholic Church. It therefore, accepted the State’s motion to terminate
the protest for failure to state a claim for relief. The judges found that there was no violation of
Free Exercise or Establishment Clause.
Additionally, in Stone v. Graham (1980), Sidle Stone and many other parents challenged
a Kentucky state law that wanted the posting of a duplicate of the Ten Commandment in all the
classrooms in public schools (Stone v. Graham, 1999). They filed their claim against the
superintendent of public school in Kentucky, James Graham. The Court was to determine if the
Kentucky statute breached the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. The found that the
Kentucky law breached the first part of the trial recognized in Lemon v. Kurt man, and hence
dishonored the establishment Clause (Wood & Petko, 2000). Judges found that the prerequisite
that the Ten Commandments be posted failed to have “secular legislation purpose” and was
“clearly religious in nature”. They found that the commandments did confine themselves to
arguably secular matters like stealing, murder, among others, but somewhat concerned matters
like the worship of God and the adherence to Sabbath Day.

PARALEGAL PROGRAM 4
References
Stone v. Graham. (1999). Supreme Court Cases: The Dynamic Court (1930-1999), N.PAG.
Wood, R. C., & Petko, M. C. (2000). Assessing Agostini v. Felton in Light of Lemon v.
Kurtzman: The Coming of Age in the Debate Between Religious Affiliated Schools and
State Aid. Brigham Young University Education & Law Journal, 2000(1), 1.