1. Describe how you understand the “Establishment Clause” and the related “Lemon Test”. The Establishment Clause is a part of First Amendment. Which means that government prohibited from creating or supporting a state-sponsored religion. The Lemon Test comes from 1971 year which known as Lemon v. Kurtzman. This test established for deciding whether a law or other government action that might support a particular religious practice should be allowed to stand. And it has 3 criteria which are ” 1. The action or law must not lead to excessive government entanglement with religion. 2. The action or law can not support or hurt religion. 3. Law must have some secular purpose; there must be some non-religious basis for the law.
2. Is burning the US flag protected by the First Amendment? Explain by referring to the relevant court case discussed in the reading.Yes, it is protected by First Amendment, as freedom speech symbol. One such person was Gregory Lee Johnson, a member of various pro-communist, in 1984, as part of a protest near Texas, Johnson set fire to a U.S. flag. He was arrested, charged with “desecration of a venerated object” and eventually convicted of that offense. However, in 1989, 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. What does it mean when someone says “I’m taking the Fifth”? When someone says that ” They are taking the Fifth”, it means they want to remain the silence, and not providing any information which could be against to them during the court process or case.

1. Establishment Clause & Lemon Test:
The Establishment Clause says the government can’t set up an official religion or favor one over another. The Lemon Test, from a 1971 case, is a way to check if a law breaks this rule—basically, the law needs a non-religious purpose, can’t mainly help or hurt religion, and can’t get the government too tangled up with religion.

2. Burning the U.S. flag:
Yes, it’s legal under the First Amendment. In Texas v. Johnson (1989), the Supreme Court said flag burning counts as free speech, so the government can’t ban it just because people don’t like it.

3. “Taking the Fifth”:
When someone says this, they’re using their Fifth Amendment right to stay silent so they don’t accidentally say something that could get them in legal trouble.

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

My understanding of the “Establishment Clause” is that it’s the separation of church and state. It prevents to government from forcing or implementing religion or even favoring a religion on it’s citizens. The “Lemon Test” comes from the case Lemon v. Kurtzman that gives a 3 step process that questions and sets guidelines for whether or not a law is violating the first amendment and forcing religion onto it’s people. Both prevent the combining of government and 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 of the US flag is protected by the First Amendment because it is a form of protest to what is going on in America. In Texas v. Johnson, the government established that although many may not like it and it may be offensive it is still a form of speech and is protected.

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

When someone says they are “taking the fifth” they are protecting their right to remain silent and due process. The fifth amendment is the right to protect yourself from potentially providing damaging information that could hurt you or your case further.

This article gives an overview of the most important parts of the Patriot Act, designed to fight international terrorism in the US. As you study it, think about which amendments from the Bill of Rights is the Patriot Act seemingly violating, and why:

The amendments I see the PATRIOT Act violating are the First and Fourth, of the Bill of Rights. The First Amendment says that the government must respect freedom of expression. However, the PATRIOT Act gives the government the power to access personal records and monitor individuals’ activities, even if they are not suspected of any crime. This goes against the First Amendment because it can make people afraid of speak freely or associate with certain groups, out of fear that the government is watching and that they may face some kind of retaliatory or investigative response.

The Fourth Amendment protects individuals from unreasonable searches and seizures and is meant to ensure privacy unless there is a lawful investigation supported by a warrant. Its intent is to limit government surveillance and protect the personal lives of individuals who are not under suspicion. However, this protection is clearly violated by practices like “sneak and peek” searches, which allow law enforcement to secretly enter a person’s home or property and only notify them afterward.

1. The Establishment clause prohibits the country from declaring an official government religion. Based on the principle that the country has a large diversity of nationalities, which escaped from wars based on religion. At the same time, within the country, people developed their own churches based on their own doctrines, and interpretations of Christianity (since the majority of migrants were from Christian countries). Therefore, the government is impeded to favor or disfavor a specific religious group. This includes having religion being taught in schools in the country. However, there was a discussion of to what extent does the government have power over the people’s religion within government’s establishments, and the people’s right to exercise their religious costumes within them. Because of this conflict, the Supreme Court in Lemon v. Kurtzman (1971) declared the Lemon test. A test based on 3 steps to make sure that the government has a straightforward boundary with religion, and remains neutral on everything related to religious activities.
2. Burning the US flag is considered a way of free speech and it is considered a form of symbolic speech. Considering the case of Texas v. Johnson in 1989, the Supreme Court made the controversial decision of releasing Gregory Lee Johnson after he burnt the flag in 1984 as a way of protest in Dallas, Texas. After the controversial decision to release Johnson, Congress responded in 1990 with the Flag Protection Act trying to overrule the decision of the Supreme Court. This attempt was considered unconstitutional.
3. When a person says, “I’m taking the fifth”, they refer to the right of not providing any information that might be self-incriminating. They will not give evidence in court or to law enforcement that might be used to incriminate a suspect. This is also known as the right to remain silent.

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

The Establishment Clause is part of the First Amendment, and was put in place to prohibite Congress from creating or promoting a state-sponsored religion. It also forbids the government from favoring one set of religious beliefs over others or favoring religion over non-religion. The Lemon test is based on a 1971 case known as Lemon v. Kurtzman, where the Supreme Court established the Lemon test for deciding whether a law or other government action that might promote a particular religious practice should be allowed to stand. There three criteria that must be satisfied for such a law or action to be found constitutional and remain in effect

*The action or law must not lead to excessive government entanglement with religion.

*The action or law must have some secular purpose

*The action or law cannot either inhibit or advance religious practice.

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

States and the federal government have long had laws protecting the flag from being desecrated—defaced, damaged, or otherwise treated with disrespect. In 1984 Gregory Lee Johnson, a member of various pro-communist and antiwar groups, as part of a protest near the Republican National Convention in Dallas, Texas, Johnson set fire to a U.S. flag that another protestor had torn from a flagpole. He was arrested, charged with “desecration of a venerated object”, and eventually convicted of that offense. However, in 1989, 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.

This court decision was strongly criticized, and as a result, Congress passed a federal law, the Flag Protection Act, intended to overrule it, however the act was struck down as unconstitutional in 1990. Since then, Congress has attempted on several occasions to propose constitutional amendments allowing the states and federal government to re-criminalize flag desecration but to no avail.

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

Taking the fifth means the right to remain silent. This provision became embedded in the public consciousness following the Supreme Court’s 1966 ruling in Miranda v. Arizona, whereby suspects were required to be informed of their most important rights, including the right against self-incrimination, before being interrogated in police custody.

1. Describe how you understand the “Establishment Clause” and the related “Lemon Test”.”
Answer: The Establishment Clause is part of the First Amendment. It says the government cannot create or support an official religion. That means the government must stay neutral with religion and not favor one religion over another or favor religion over no religion. The Lemon Test comes from the court case Lemon v. Kurtzman. It is used to check if a law or government action about religion is okay under the First Amendment. This test has three rules: first one is, the law must have a non-religious purpose. Second, the law cannot help or hurt religion. Third one is the law cannot cause too much involvement between government and religion. If a law fails any of these three rules, it violates the Establishment Clause.

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

Answer: Yes, burning the US flag is protected by the First Amendment as a form of free speech. From the given information on open lab shows, in the case of Texas V. Johnson, Gregory Lee Johnson burned a flag during a protest. He was arrested, but the Supreme Court said burning the flag is symbolic speech and the government cannot punish people for expressing their ideas this way, even if the act is offensive to many people.

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

Answer: When someone says, “I’m taking the Fifth,” that means they are using their Fifth Amendment right to remain silent so they don’t say something that could be used against them in court. The Fifth Amendment protects people from self-incrimination, meaning they cannot be forced to testify or give evidence that makes them look guilty.

1. Describe how you understand the “Establishment Clause” and the related “Lemon Test”.
2. Is burning the US flag protected by the First Amendment? Explain by referring to the relevant court case discussed in the reading.
3. What does it mean when someone says “I’m taking the Fifth”?