Spence v. Washington, 418 U.S. 405 (1974), was a United States Supreme Court case dealing with non-verbal free speech and its protections under the First Amendment.

The Court, in a per curiam decision, ruled that a Washington state law that banned the display of the American flag adorned with additional decorations was unconstitutional as it violated protected speech.

The case established the Spence test that has been used by the judicial system to determine when non-verbal speech may be sufficiently expressive for First Amendment protections.

[2] Post argued that the Spence test would allow for graffiti that defaces property to be protected under the First Amendment, while abstract works of art such as Andy Warhol's Sleep or Marcel Duchamp's Fountain, where the intended message would be difficult to understand, would fail the Spence test, despite clear recognition as works of art normally protected by the First Amendment.

[2] The Supreme Court case Hurley v. Irish-American Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Group of Boston (515 U.S. 557 (1995)) subsequently altered the Spence test.

"[6] Hurley's take on Spence created a circuit split in the following years on the particulars of whether actions qualify as expressive, protected speech, which, as of 2015, had yet to be revolved by the Supreme Court.