1. My understanding of the “Establishment Clause” is that the congress federal government is prevented by the first amendment from creating an official government-supported religion. The “Establishment Clause” means the government is prohibited from establishing a religion. In some countries government- favored religions like in Sri Lanka they favor Buddhism. In Iran, Islam is an official religion of the government supported by the government. In the United States, the government is not supposed to do that because there are different people in America, that follow different religions, They believe that if they had an official government religion it would discriminate against and disadvantage those who have other religions because they would be like they don’t have equality so to prevent this problem the clause prohibited the government from having a government establishing a religion. From my understanding, the lemon test was established by the Supreme Court from the case ‘Lemon v. Kurtzman’ which was to decide whether a law or other government action that might promote a particular religious practice should be allowed to stand. The lemon test as stated in reading 9.1, ” The Lemon test has three criteria that must be satisfied for such a law or action to be found constitutional and remains in effect: 1. 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. 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.”
2. The burning of the U.S flag is protected by the first amendment. The Supreme Court decided in Texas v. Johnson that 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.
3. “I’m taking the fifth” means you have the right to remind silent 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.

1.Describe how you understand the “Establishment Clause” and the related “Lemon Test”. The Establishment Clause prohibits the government from establishing a religion. The word “establishment” is not clearly defined. In the past, it meant that state-sponsored churches like the Church of England were forbidden . The Lemon test was developed by the Supreme Court to determine weather a statute or other 

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 constituted an example of symbolic speech protected by the First Amendment. Gregory Lee Johnson, a pro-communist and anti-war activist, set a torn flag on fire in 1984 as part of a protest. He was detained, accused of, among other things, “desecration of a sacred object,” and ultimately found guilty of it . However, the Supreme Court ruled in Texas v. Johnson in 1989 that flag burning was a type of symbolic speech protected by the First Amendment and that the legislation was unconstitutional as it applied to flag desecration.

3.

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

When someone says “I’m taking the Fifth”, it means the person has decided to remain silent, withhold information from a judge or law enforcement officials that could be interpreted as an admission of guilty or responsibility for a crime . Also, in a criminal trial, if a defendant chooses not to testify in support of their own case, the prosecution is not permitted to infer guilt or suggest that an innocent defendant would testify in its place.

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

The establishment clause in common terms is the separation of church and state. This act bars the government from funding or promoting particular religions. Having grown up in a non-religious household in the south, my understanding of at least the importance of the establishment clause is quite authentic. Allowing decisions to be made based on religious rhetoric that affects an entire country of people is anti-democratic. I don’t believe religion is a bad thing, but I do believe that people are biased toward their own perspectives. I would also argue that this decision has less to do with the practice of religion in general than it does authority, as atheists are equally set in their perspective (there is no god) as theists (there is a god). In other words, my understanding of the establishment clause is that it wasn’t ratified in order to cripple religion in the country or anything of the sort, but rather simply to deny them any authority under the law.

The Lemon Test is a method for determining the constitutionality of the promotion of certain religious practices by the Government and is based on three criteria. 1: The action/law must not lead to the entanglement of church and state, and the boundaries for policing should be clear. 2: the government must be neutral in its effects, and may not inhibit or advance religious practice. 3: The action/law must have a secular purpose, in other words, a non-religious justification for its existence.

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

The burning of the US flag is protected by the first amendment. Originally it was illegal, but historically the practice of flag burning was only punished in part. In 1984 Gregory Lee Johnson was arrested for the offense and convicted, but in 1989 the supreme court decided it to be a form of symbolic speech and therefore constitutional under the first amendment. In critical response, congress passed “the flag protection act” as a federal law, but was quickly removed as unconstitutional in 1990. The government has tried to re-criminalize flag burning time and time again on both the state and federal level but has not succeeded.

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

Taking the fifth is the invocation of the right to remain silent. The fifth amendment protects us from self-incrimination, by making forced testimony illegal in the event that our testimony would self-incriminate. The right to remain silent is only applicable when someone would be otherwise compelled to speak, and is therefore only applicable in the event of legal problems like a subpoena or a court case. In other words, the Fifth amendment does not apply to children who stole from the cookie jar, unless they broke some federal/state law in the process.

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

The Establishment Clause according to me is that the government cannot favor 1 religion over another one. The US Government must be neutral in term of Religion, they cannot promote a specific religion as the general religion of the United States. The Lemon test incudes three requirements. First, the law must have a secular (non-religious) purpose. Second, the law must not have the primary effect of advancing religion. Third, the test requires that government avoid excessive entanglement with religion. Those requirements determine whether a government law or action meets the establishment clause. In other words all action taken by the government must show an attitude or position that has nothing to do with religion. No cross or religious images, photos hanging in public schools walls or classrooms is a secular decision. Government must have limited relationship with a religious entity such limited administrative cooperation with churches. Not less, not too much services to churches or any other entity from other religions.

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

Since 1960, the Supreme Court’s rulings on free expression became more rural. The Supreme Court also found that various forms of symbolic speech must be protected as well spoken communication. Therefore, the US flag is protected by the First Amendment under that same protection. The Supreme Court on a case have decided that burning the US flag is a form of symbolic speech or free expression on the case of Texas vs Johnson. The Court determines under the first amendment that people burns the flag in way to express their cause and unhappiness. It is a allowable as expressive conduct. Per the Court, punishing flag burning as a flag violation of protocol is unconstitutional.

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

The Fifth Amendment creates a number of rights relevant to both criminal and civil legal proceedings. . In criminal cases, the Fifth Amendment guarantees the right to a grand jury, condemns double jeopardy, and protects against self-incrimination. The expression “Taking the Fifth” is the provision where an individual is protected against self-incrimination. The Fifth gives the right to individuals to not provide evidence to law enforcements that might incriminate them for a crime. They can refuse to answer questions or make any statements that could be used against them.

1. Describe how you understand the “Establishment Clause” and the related “Lemon Test”. 
2. The Establishment Clause is based upon the first amendment with Congress being prohibited from creating or promoting a state-sponsored religion. Most countries outside of the United States had already established a church or religion. If the United States had wanted to establish a single national religion, the diversity of religious beliefs would already have prevented it as settlers came from different backgrounds. However, the establish clause today continues to tend to be interpreted a bit more broadly than in the past. The Lemon Test is related by having three criteria that must be satisfied for such a law or action to be found constitutional and that have to remain in effect. These three criteria are the action or law must not lead to excessive government entanglement with religion, 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.
4. Is burning the US flag protected by the First Amendment? Explain by referring to the relevant court case discussed in the reading.
5. The burning of the United States flag is protected by the First Amendment as it was a form of symbolic speech. As it is protected, they also found the law as applied to flag desecration to be unconstitutional. The court case Texas v. Johnson played a big role in this decision. With the Supreme Court making this decision, this was strictly criticized. Due to this overcome, Congress responsed by passing the law of “The Flag Protection Act”. This was to overrule the decision however, it was also called towards unconstitutional.
7. What does it mean when someone says “I’m taking the Fifth”?
8. When an individual says “I’m taking the fifth” it means that they 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. Even in a situation where it is 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.

1. The easiest way I understand the establishment clause is from how one can have the right to have which ever religious belief they choose to have. How in many countries it’s a conflict but thankfully in the United States it is not. It’s pretty much as they stated in the text, where it’s not favoring any specific religion.
2. The flag isn’t protected by the first amendment, if anything that is the reason why someone isn’t allowed to get in trouble for it since it’s also viewed as a freedom of speech. However, after the case of Texas V. Johnson occurred, it went to show they had to make some changes so that wouldn’t occur again. Which was why they ended up passing a federal law called The flag protection act, in order to prevent this from happening again.
3. It means they are waving their right to remain silent and protection against self incrimination.

1.The Establishment clause prohibits the government from establishing a religion. What constitutes the establishment of religion is governed by a three-part test that was established by the supreme Court in the Lemon v. Kurtzman case in 1971, this is the Lemon Test.  The Establishment clause was established to make sure that the government cannot impose, force, or promote a certain religion, and if a governmental law or action is allowed to promote a particular religious practice, it must pass the Lemon Test which are, (1) there is no excessive entanglement between the government and the religion, (2) the assistance must neither promote nor inhibit religion, and (3) the primary purpose of the assistance is secular.

2. Burning of the US flag is protected by the First Amendment under the freedom of Expression. In 1960, during the Brandenburg v. Ohio case, the supreme court ruled that Symbolic speech  was subject to the same the protection as written and spoken communication. So, in 1989, during the Texas v. Johnson when Johnson charged with desecration of a venerated object after Burning the US flag during a protest in 1984, the Supreme court found the law as unconstitutional stating that burning the flag was a form of symbolic speech protected by the First Amendment.

3. When someone says, “I’m taking the Fifth, ” they are exercising their fifth amendment right to not self-incriminate by remaining silent. The person’s silence cannot also be seen as an admission of guilt or used against them in their trial.

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

The establishment clause is the first amendment to the constitution on the constitutional right of freedom of religion. Allowing the citizens to be whatever religion they choose but for the government to not show favoritism to one specific religion. To have equality for each religion as one. 

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. In the case of Texas v. Johnson , it has been ruled that the burning flag is a form of symbolic speech which is protected by the first amendment.

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

I’m taking the fifth means you will be silent or refuse to answer until you meet with an attorney to know that whatever you are saying wouldn’t be used against you.

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

The Establishment cause is to prohibit the federal government from declaring and financially supporting a national religion. And under the “Lemon test” the government can only assist religion only if the assistance neither promotes nor inhibit religion.

• Is burning the US flag protected by the First Amendment?

Yes, because the majority of the Court according to Justice William Brennan, agreed with Johnson and held that flag burning constitutes a form of “symbolic speech” that is protected by the First Amendment

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

Taking the fifth means you will remain completely silent until you can meet with an attorney who will help ensure that your legal rights are protected.