
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, May 13, 1990                   TAG: 9005130028
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-5   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                LENGTH: Medium

FLAG-BURNING ISSUE BACK BEFORE JUSTICE

The Supreme Court this week takes up the attempt by Congress to protect the American flag from desecration. While the issue before the justices is the law's constitutionality, politics won't be far below the surface.

The high court will hear arguments Monday and is expected to rule by the time its current term ends, probably in late June or early July. If the law is struck down, a proposed constitutional amendment to protect the flag almost certainly would become a leading issue in congressional and state legislative races this fall.

The one-hour argument session is extraordinary. On only three occasions in recent times has the court heard arguments on a case so late in a session.

The law, the Flag Protection Act of 1989, makes it a crime, punishable by up to a year in prison, for anyone to burn, mutilate, deface or trample on the flag or "maintain [it] on the floor or ground."

The court will examine its past rulings on the First Amendment safeguards of free speech and expression.

While the Bush administration defends the law, it's no secret President Bush and leading Republicans would prefer a constitutional amendment to ban flag burning - something that would be unnecessary if the justices uphold the law.

New York Gov. Mario Cuomo, possibly a future Democratic presidential contender, put the matter in perspective in a brief submitted to the high court.

If the law is struck down, the brief said, "there will be a serious and profound impact on New York and other states because such a ruling would almost certainly trigger a divisive battle in Congress and in the states over whether a constitutional amendment to permit a ban on flag burning should be passed."

The speaker of the House, Rep. Thomas Foley, D-Wash., has promised a House vote on a constitutional amendment within 30 days if the court invalidates the law.

Such an amendment, proclaiming that a ban on flag burning does not violate free speech, would require approval by two-thirds of the members of the House and Senate and then ratification by 38 state legislatures.

by CNB