Bellecourt v. City of Cleveland, 2003 WL 21101089 (Ohio App.), holds
that burning someone in effigy at a public rally was protected speech,
notwithstanding a generally applicable arson statute, when it seemed clear
that the burning posed no danger ("[T]he demonstration took place in a paved
area cordoned off with metal barricades and surrounded by police officers as
well as six fire fighters equipped with fire extinguishers. Moreover, the
public was rerouted away from the area."). An interesting case, given the
recurring (and still valid) point that Texas v. Johnson held not that
flagburning was protected as such, but rather that it was protected against
a law that singled out flagburning because of its message.
Eugene
