1)The establishment cause is when religion or anything political is not mixed together for there not to be any issues or indifference among the two. The relation it has with “Lemon test” is that it make sure all religion has its space and different freedom amounts both.

2) Yes, burning the American flag is protected by the first amendment as a way of freedom of speech. It is also known to be a symbolic speech agreed by the supreme court although it can cause issues by the Americans beliefs.

3) When someone says ” I’m taking the fifth” is more as saying I will be not speaking anymore. You will like to remain silent or you just don’t want parts in the situation. It can also be a way to prevent yourself into getting in a forceful argument between your freedom or accusation.

1. Describe how you understand the “Establishment Clause” and the related “Lemon Test”.

• The “Establishment Clause”, as I understand it, is the first portion of the First Amendment of the US Constitution. It deals with religious freedom by protecting people from the government imposing a religion on them or preventing them from practicing their religion.
• The “Lemon Test” was established by the Supreme Court to help with deciding if a law or other government action that might promote a religious practice should be allowed under the First Amendment. It has to pass 3 criteria to be found constitutional and allowed to remain in effect: 1. The action or law must not lead to excessive government entanglement. 2. The action or law should be neutral in its effects on religion. 3. The action or law must have some secular purpose.

1. Is burning the US flag protected by the First Amendment? Explain by referring to the relevant court case discussed in the reading.

• As controversial as the burning of the US flag might be, it IS protected as symbolic-speech under the First Amendment.
• The Supreme Court made this ruling during Texas v Johnson, where Gregory Lee Johnson had burned a US flag as an anti-war protest. He was initially arrested and sentenced for the crime of “desecration of a venerated object”, but later freed once the Supreme Court found that the desecration of a flag fit under the symbolic-speech protected by The First Amendment.

1. What does it mean when someone says “I’m taking the Fifth”?

• When someone says “I’m taking the Fifth” they mean they are going to remain silent when faced with criminal charges.
• This is a provision of The Fifth Amendment that protects an individuals rights against self-incrimination: the right to not speak with or give evidence to the police, the right to not testify in court in his/her defense. Neither can be taken as admissions of guilt.

1. I understand the “Establishment Cause” as the protection citizens have if the government decides to implement a religion as the main one of the nation, and, be forced to learn and abide by the morals and gods of that religion. About the “Lemon Test”, is a set of steps to follow to determine if a law or government action violates the establishment cause or not, the steps follow this criteria:

1. The action law must not lead to excessive government entanglement with religion; in other words, policing the boundary between government and religion should be relatively straightforward and not require extensive effort by the government.
2. The action or law cannot either inhibit or advance religious practice; it should be neutral in its effects on religion.
3. The action or law must have some secular purpose, there must be some non-religious justification for the law.

If the law or actions made by the government follows each one of these steps while being related to a religious matter, then it can be considered constitutional.

2. Burning the flag is protected by the 1^st amendment because is considered a way of symbolic speech, and is also associated with a political expression, an example of this was when, in 1984 a member of a pro-communist and antiwar group called Gregory Lee Johnson was charged and convicted for “desecration of a venerated object”, however, a few years later in 1989, the Supreme Court decided that burning the flag was a way of symbolic speech, hence, this act was protected by the 1^st amendment, and the law of desecration was found unconstitutional. The burning of the flag is protected but still quite controversial to the American population because it is considered a highly respected object of the nation.

3. When you express “I’m taking the fifth” it is usually translated into the right of remaining silent, this is because in the 5^th amendment there is something called the right against self-incrimination. The individual who chooses his right to remain silent is opting to not give evidence to law enforcement officers or to the court that might constitute and admission of guilt or a responsibility for a crime, in fact, if an individual doesn’t testify in his own defense, the prosecutors cannot use that failure to testify as evidence of guilt or imply than innocent person would testify.

1. The trend of modern society is to develop towards the pursuit of objective truth so that religion and political forces do not interfere with each other, political decisions are not affected by religious forces, and science and religion are completely separated, and objective things are treated in an objective manner. To ensure that the science education system is not affected by religion. Establishment Clause and the related “Lemon Test” can help to a certain extent in guaranteeing freedom of religion, ensuring that different religions can have free space.
2. The first amendment of the U.S. Constitution protects freedom of speech, and the protected “speech” is not limited to oral and written language, it can also be “thought expression” and “symbolic” behavior. Burning the flag is essentially an expression of appeal, so it is protected by the first amendment. Examples are Street v. New York State and Texas v. Johnson.
3. “I’m taking the Fifth” means that witnesses can avoid self-incrimination in accordance with the provisions of the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

1. Describe how you understand the “Establishment Clause” and the related “Lemon Test”.

The Establishment Clause prevents the creation of a state-sponsored or state-favored religion. The “Lemon Test” defines three criteria for determining if a law is constitutional with regards to the first amendment and establishment clause. 

1. Must not lead to “excessive government entanglement with religion”; so can’t require government and religion to become dependent on one another
2. Cannot “inhibit or advance religious practice”
3. Must be secular reason for law

Given all of the above, the Lemon test checks to see if a law is actually constitutional with regards to freedom of and also freedom from religion.

2. Is burning the US flag protected by the First Amendment? Explain by referring to the relevant court case discussed in the reading.
Burning the US flag is protected under the First Amendment; in 1989, the Supreme Court ruled in Texas v. Johnson that the burning of the flag is a form of protected speech. It is not violent speech, and can be considered a form of protest, which is protected under both the intent and letter of the First Amendment.

3. What does it mean when someone says “I’m taking the Fifth”?
When someone says “I’m pleading the Fifth,” they are referring to their right against self-incrimination, which is protected by the Fifth Amendment. This means that they have the right to remain silent when questioned and the right to not testify when accused of a crime, and this lack of testimony cannot be taken as admission of guilt.

1.Describe how you understand the “Establishment Clause” and the related “Lemon Test”.

The establishment clause origins from the First Amendment. The First Amendment protects the right to freedom of religious conscience and practice. On this matter, it protects two related sorts of freedom: it protects people from having a set of religious beliefs imposed by the government, and it protects people from having their own religious beliefs restricted by governmental authorities. The first type of protection is known as the establishment clause. In other words, it is the right that forbids the Congress or the States from creating or promoting a state-sponsored religion. 

Furthermore, the Lemon test is a set of guidelines for judging whether a law or other government action that might promote a religious practice should be allowed or not. These is the criteria:

• The action or law must not lead to excessive government entanglement with religion; in other words, policing the boundary between government and religion should be relatively straightforward and not require extensive effort by the government.
• The action or law cannot either inhibit or advance religious practice; it should be neutral in its effects on religion.
• The action or law must have some secular purpose; there must be some non-religious justification for the law.

In conclusion, for a law or action that might promote a religious practices to be allowed it must not require a large undertake from the government. Also, it can interfere with the religious practices, and it must have a non-religious purpose to exist.

2. Is burning the US flag protected by the First Amendment? Explain by referring to the relevant court case discussed in the reading.

As referred to in the reading in 1984 a member of a pro-communist and antiwar group set fire to a U.S flag. This man, Gregory Lee Johnson, was charged and convicted for “desecration of a venerated object”. Nevertheless, years later in 1989, the Supreme Court decided that burning the flag was a form of symbolic speech. Thereafter, this act could be protected by the First Amendment; thus, this law as applied to flag desecration was found unconstitutional. As a result, it is possible to say that burning the US flag is protected under the First Amendment. However, as it is also mentioned in the reading, this act of symbolic speech is found highly controversial for Americans. Because citizens of the United States tend to revere the flag as a unifying symbol of the country. In a nutshell, the United States flag is a highly respected symbol of the country and any act against it is seemed as a strong act of disrespect. 

3. What does it mean when someone says, “I’m taking the Fifth”?

The Fifth Amendment states provisions dealing with the rights of the accused. In one of the many provisions the Fifth Amendment lists, the most famous is the one that states the right against self-incrimination, or the right to remain silent. Then, when someone says: I’m taking the fifth, they are basically stating that they are choosing to use their right to remain silent. It is well explained in the reading “People have the right not to give evidence in court or to law enforcement officers that might constitute an admission of guilt or responsibility for a crime. Moreover, in a criminal trial, if someone does not testify in his or her own defense, the prosecution cannot use that failure to testify as evidence of guilt or imply that an innocent person would testify.” Thus, a person has the right to not help the persecution; thereafter, allowing people to avoid the chance of being manipulated to admit a guilt they don’t own. In conclusion, this is a provision that looks after providing the accused a fair and transparent prosecution process.

1.Describe how you understand the “Establishment Clause” and the related “Lemon Test”.

The establishment clause of the First Amendment prevents the government to establish an “official religion.” Having an established official religion could lead to religious persecution and discrimination. The Lemon Test named after the Supreme Court case Lemon v. Kurtzman. The Lemon Test is used to test out if a government activity or legislative action violates the establishment clause. Activities such as prayers or funding religious schools.

2.Is burning the US flag protected by the First Amendment? Explain by referring to the relevant court case discussed in the reading.

Burning the US flag is protected by the First Amendment as a form of free speech. This is supported by a precedented Supreme Court case Texas v. Johnson.

3.What does it mean when someone says “I’m taking the Fifth”?

“Taking the Fifth” is referring to invoke one’s Fifth Amendments right to remain silent against self-incrimination. This phase is often used when encountering with law enforcement agents during Interrogation of any sort. Because any information that a person said can be used against him in the court therefore the Fifth Amendment is a strong tool for self-protection. Also refuse to provide testimony can not be used against the suspect in the court.

Describe how you understand the “Establishment Clause” and the related “Lemon Test.”

The establishment-of-religion provision of the United States Constitution prohibits Congress from creating a national religion. It prohibits the enactment of any law that favors or compels belief in a single religion. The Lemon Test is used to determine whether a statute or other government action that promotes a specific religious practice should be upheld. For a law or action to be ruled constitutional and stay in effect, the Lemon test contains three conditions that must be met.

1. Is burning the US flag protected by the First Amendment? Explain by referring to the relevant court case discussed in the reading.

The First Amendment protects the burning of the American flag or any harm to it.

1. What does it mean when someone says, “I’m taking the Fifth”?

When someone says, “I’m taking the Fifth,” they express their desire to remain silent to avoid self-incrimination.  For instance, the fifth Amendment of the U.S constitution “No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury”

Work Cited

“Fifth Amendment.” LII / Legal Information Institute, https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/fifth_amendment. Accessed 18 June 2021.

1. To minimize conflicts between religious groups and/or ethnic minorities that easily led to wars in Europe, the First Amendment forbade a creation of state-sponsored religion in the United States – that freedom is called “Establishment clause”. The “Lemon test”, consisting of three criteria, establishes whether a government action, such as a law, will promote a religious practice. For a law to pass the Lemon test, it should be neutral in its effects on religion, it must have a secular purpose and it should not entail an extensive effort on part of government to police the boundary between the government and religion.
2. When defined as a “form of symbolic speech”, burning of the U.S. flag is indeed protected by the First Amendment – in 1989 Supreme Court case Texas v. Johnson, it was established that the “desecration of a venerated object” law was unconstitutional because it interfered with the freedom of speech.
3. When someone says, “I’m taking the Fifth” that means they choose to remain silent and protect themselves from self-incrimination. Under the Fifth Amendment’s protection, people have the right to give no evidence in court or to law enforcement officers that would constitute guilt or responsibility for a crime. Furthermore, the silence observed will not constitute guilt or imply that the person is guilty, since an innocent person would testify. 

1. The establishment clause limits official endorsement of religion, and it not only forbids the creation of a “Church of the United States” or “Church of Ohio” it also forbids the government from favoring one set of religious beliefs over others or favoring religion over non-religion. Therefore, It prevents the passage of any law that gives preference to or forces belief in any one religion. The lemon test was established to decide whether a law or other government action that might promote a particular religious practice should be allowed to stand. 

2. The First Amendment protects the flag from being damaged and treated with disrespect. “Burning the flag was a form of symbolic speech protected by the First Amendment and found the law, as applied to flag desecration, to be unconstitutional.” The Court Case “Texas v. Johnson” The U.S. Supreme Court agreed that symbolic speech no matter how offensive to some is protected under the First Amendment.

3. The phrase “I’m taking the Fifth”  refers to a witness’s refusal to testify on the ground that the testimony might incriminate the witness in a crime. The 5th Amendment protects individuals from being forced to testify against themselves.