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Brief Fact Summary. Black (D) was convicted under Virginia’s (P) cross-burning statute. He argued that it was an unconstitutional law because under it any cross-burning was treated as prima facie evidence of the intention to create fear in another.
11 gru 2002 · Justice David H. Souter, joined by Justices Anthony M. Kennedy and Ruth Bader Ginsburg, concluded that the Virginia statute is unconstitutional and therefore concurred in the Court's judgment insofar as it affirmed the invalidation of Black's conviction. Justice Clarence Thomas dissented.
Virginia v. Black, 538 U.S. 343 (2003), was a landmark decision of the Supreme Court of the United States in which the Court held, 5–4, that any state statute banning cross burning on the basis that it constitutes prima facie evidence of intent to intimidate is a violation of the First Amendment to the Constitution.
7 kwi 2003 · The State of Virginia convicted three individuals for violating a statute that banned cross burning in public spaces or on the property of others with the intent to intimidate. However the statute viewed the physical act of burning a cross as sufficient evidence of intimidation.
Virginia v. Black: The government may not ban cross burning with the intent to intimidate if the act of cross burning itself is considered evidence of the intent to intimidate.
Highlight Text. U.S. Supreme Court Case Summary. In Virginia v. Black, 538 U.S. 343, 123 S.Ct. 1536, 155 L.Ed.2d 535 (2003), the Supreme Court considered the constitutionality of a Virginia statute making it a criminal offense to burn a cross with intent to intimidate. 538 U.S. at 347-48, 123 S.Ct. 1536.
1 sty 2009 · Virginia v. Black (2003) upheld a statute making it illegal to burn a cross in public to intimidate others. Cross burning was considered a true threat unprotected by the First Amendment.
