court opinion

In the excerpt from Texas v. Johnson Majority Opinion, what is Justice Brennan’s major claim?

• A The nation’s flag represents American ideals and freedoms.

• B Americans’ First Amendment rights include the right to burn the flag in protest.

• C The act of burning the flag is harmful to the flag’s symbolic value to America and to the First Amendment.

• D Controversies about peoples’ burning of the flag are necessary for the First Amendment

In paragraph 3 of Texas v. Johnson Majority Opinion, Brennan paraphrases the opinion of Justice Holmes from

another court case. What reason might Brennan have for doing this?

• Holmes, Brennan’s close friend, likely needed support for his court opinion.

• Holmes, an expert in the field, provided a necessary counterargument to Brennan’s opinion.

• Holmes gave a popular opinion unimportant to Brennan’s views but of interest to readers.

• Holmes provided authoritative evidence to support Brennan’s views.

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Read this quotation from paragraph 3 of Texas v. Johnson Majority Opinion.

Indeed, Texas’ argument that the burning of an American flag “is an act having a high likelihood to cause a

breach of the peace,” and its statute’s implicit assumption that physical mistreatment of the flag will lead to

“serious offense,” tend to confirm that the flag’s special role is not in danger; if it were, no one would riot or take

offense because a flag had been burned.

The purpose of this statement by Justice Brennan is to appeal to his audience’s —

• logic, because it provides a sensible explanation for his view

• emotions, because it uses such words as mistreatment and riot

• belief in ideals, because it emphasizes the special role held by the flag

• respect for authority, because it emphasizes the high position of the flag

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Paragraph 5 of the excerpt from “American Flag Stands for Tolerance” presents a counterargument. How does

the writer rebut this counterargument in paragraph 6?

• He maintains that the objection to his claim is untrue because the principle he upholds is not dogmatic.

• He argues that the requirement to reject dogma is limited to rejecting one particular principle, not all dogma.

• He admits that the objection to his claim is true, but states that the dogma he supports is more logical than

  what it replaces.

• He points out that the idea of limiting freedom of expression to protect the flag is a belief of private

  citizens, not official dogma.

What is the author attempting to point out by using his logic in paragraph 7?

• The importance of allowing peaceful protests

• Why the controversy about flag burning is so intense

• A flaw in the thinking of some whose views oppose the author’s

• The lengths people may go to in order to make a point

Consider the connotation of robust as it is used in this sentence from paragraph 9 of “American Flag Stands

for Tolerance.”

After all, it is in robust debate that we are most true to ourselves.

Which synonym for robust most closely communicates the same meaning?

• Tough

• Sturdy

• Vigorous

• Boisterous

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What can a reader determine about Allen’s and Brennan’s views of the First Amendment from the

selections they wrote?

• Allen and Brennan both see the First Amendment as being more easily threatened than others in the

  Bill of Rights.

• Allen and Brennan both see the First Amendment as most deserving of protection among all Constitutional

  amendments.

• Allen views the First Amendment as completely clear; Brennan views it as complicated due to the breadth

  of its protections.

• Allen views the First Amendment as the most important in the Bill of Rights; Brennan does not relate

  anything specific about his view of it

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this idea was found in:

One person’s actions cannot change widely held feelings

• Brennan

• Allen

• Both

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this idea was found in:

The American flag represents the nation’s resilience.

• Brennan

• Allen

• Both

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this idea was found in :

There are benefits to having disagreements

• Brennan

• Allen

• Both

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