Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, March 14, 1990 TAG: 9003142755
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium
The Justice Department said in legal papers the court should speed up consideration of the politically charged issue, scheduling oral arguments April 25 and ruling before the court term ends in July.
"The preservation of the flag as the unique symbol of our nation" outweighs the free-expression rights at stake in burning a flag, department lawyers said.
But they acknowledged that President Bush allowed the law to be enacted on Oct. 28 without his signature because he questions its constitutionality and prefers a constitutional amendment to assure the same protection for the flag.
Bush said he has "serious doubts [the law] can withstand Supreme Court review" and said "a constitutional amendment is the only way to ensure that our flag is protected from desecration."
A federal judge in the District of Columbia and another in Seattle have declared the new law unconstitutional.
The Supreme Court's public information office said the justices will consider the administration's request for expedited review of the case when they meet in a private conference Friday.
The court is in recess this week and will return to the bench Monday.
A lawyer representing the defendants in both flag cases accused the administration of seeking expedited Supreme Court review so that the flag will be an issue in this year's campaign for House and Senate seats.
"If the court issues its decision in July and its in our favor, there is no doubt a [constitutional] amendment will be introduced" in Congress, said David Cole, an attorney with the Center for Constitutional Rights.
Cole said he will ask the court not to consider the case until October.
The law includes provisions aimed at compelling the justices to review the statute and formally decide its constitutionality rather than sidestepping the issue without comment.
The court, voting 5-4 last June, struck down a Texas law barring desecration or destruction of the flag. The court said burning the American flag as a form of political protest is protected by the Constitution's free-speech guarantees.
That case echoed themes from the 1988 presidential campaign in which Bush stressed patriotic values and attacked Democratic opponent Gov. Michael Dukakis of Massachusetts for vetoing legislation to require that public school teachers lead their classes in the Pledge of Allegiance.
The June decision touched off a political firestorm and ultimately led to enactment of the new flag-protection law.
Democratic leaders in Congress supported the law as an alternative to a constitutional amendment.
by CNB