Wallace, Governor of Alabama, et al. v. Jaffree, et al.
Citations:
472 U.S. 38; 105 S. Ct. 2479; 86 L. Ed. 2d 29; 1985 U.S. LEXIS 91; 53 U.S.L.W. 4665
Prior history:
Appeal from the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
Holding
"Just as the right to speak and the right to refrain from speaking are complementary components of a broader concept of individual freedom of mind, so also the individual's freedom to choose his own creed is the counterpart of his right to refrain from accepting the creed established by the majority ... when the underlying principle has been examined in the crucible of litigation, the Court has unambiguously concluded that the individual freedom of conscience protected by the First Amendment embraces the right to select any religious faith or none at all."
Wallace v. Jaffree, 472 U.S. 38 (1985), was a United States Supreme Courtcase deciding on the issue of silent school prayer. An Alabama law had required that each school day commence with a moment of "silent meditation or voluntary prayer". A parent of a student sued the state, claiming that the law violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. The plaintiff had complained that the law instituted compulsory prayer and exposed students to religious indoctrination. The District Court allowed the practice, but the Court of Appeals reversed, holding the law unconstitutional. The Supreme Court ruled 6 to 3 that the Alabama law violated constitutional principle. Notably, future Chief Justice William Rehnquist issued a dissenting opinion, arguing that the Court's Establishment Clause reasoning in the line of cases beginning with Everson v. Board of Education, 330 U.S. 1 (1947) was flawed in as much as it was based on the writings of Thomas Jefferson, who was not the author of the Clause. Image File history File links Seal_of_the_United_States_Supreme_Court. ... The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest judicial body in the United States and leads the judicial branch of the United States federal government. ... Warren Earl Burger (September 17, 1907 – June 25, 1995) was Chief Justice of the United States from 1969 to 1986. ... William J. Brennan, official portrait, 1976. ... Byron White, official portrait. ... Thurgood Marshall (July 2, 1908 – January 24, 1993) was an American jurist and the first African American to serve on the Supreme Court of the United States. ... Justice Harry Blackmun Harry Andrew Blackmun (November 12, 1908 – March 4, 1999) was an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1970 to 1994. ... Lewis Franklin Powell, Jr. ... William Hubbs Rehnquist (October 1, 1924 – September 3, 2005) was an American lawyer, jurist, and a political figure, who served as an Associate Justice on the Supreme Court of the United States and later as the Chief Justice of the United States. ... John Paul Stevens (born April 20, 1920) is an American jurist, and the senior Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. ... Sandra Day OConnor (born March 26, 1930) is an American jurist who served as the first female Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1981 to 2006. ... For other uses, see First Amendment (disambiguation). ... // Case citation is the system used in common law countries such as the United States, England and Wales, Canada, New Zealand, Australia and India to uniquely identify the location of past court cases in special series of books called reporters or law reports. ... 1985 (MCMLXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest judicial body in the United States and leads the judicial branch of the United States federal government. ... This is a chronological list of notable cases decided by the Supreme Court of the United States. ... Official language(s) English Capital Montgomery Largest city Birmingham Area Ranked 30th - Total 52,419 sq mi (135,765 km²) - Width 190 miles (306 km) - Length 330 miles (531 km) - % water 3. ... For other uses, see First Amendment (disambiguation). ... Map of the boundaries of the United States Courts of Appeals and United States District Courts The United States district courts are the general trial courts of the United States federal court system. ... The United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the following United States district courts: Northern, Middle, and Southern Districts of Alabama Northern, Middle, and Southern Districts of Florida Northern, Middle, and Southern Districts of Georgia These districts were originally part... William Hubbs Rehnquist (October 1, 1924 – September 3, 2005) was an American lawyer, jurist, and a political figure, who served as an Associate Justice on the Supreme Court of the United States and later as the Chief Justice of the United States. ... Holding The Establishment Clause of the First Amendment is incorporated against the states. ... Year 1947 (MCMXLVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1947 calendar). ... This article is becoming very long. ...
From the court opinion:
Section 16-1-20.1 is a law respecting the establishment of religion and thus violates the First Amendment.
"(a)The proposition that the several States have no greater power to restrain the individual freedoms protected by the First Amendment than does Congress is firmly embedded in constitutional jurisprudence. The First Amendment was adopted to curtail Congress' power to interfere with the individual's freedom to believe, to worship, and to express himself in accordance with the dictates of his own conscience..."
"(b)One of the well-established criteria for determining the constitutionality of a statute under the Establishment Clause is that the statute must have a secular legislative purpose. Lemon v. Kurtzman, 403 U.S. 602, 612-613 (1971). The First Amendment requires that a statute must be invalidated if it is entirely motivated by a purpose to advance religion."
"(c)The record here not only establishes that 16-1-20.1's purpose was to endorse religion, it also reveals that the enactment of the statute was not motivated by any clearly secular purpose." "...The State's endorsement, by enactment of 16-1-20.1, of prayer activities at the beginning of each schoolday is not consistent with the established principle that the government must pursue a course of complete neutrality toward religion."
Holding For a law to be constitutional under the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, the law must have a legitimate secular purpose, must not have the primary effect of either advancing or inhibiting religion, and must not result in an excessive entanglement of government and religion. ... 1971 (MCMLXXI) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1971 calendar). ...
External links
Full text of the court opinion courtesy of Findlaw.com
Jaffree, supra, 472 U.S., at 81, 105 S.Ct., at 2503 (O'CONNOR, J., concurring in judgment).
Jaffree, supra, 472 U.S., at 52‑53, 105 S.Ct., at 2487 (Establishment Clause protects individual freedom of conscience "to select any religious faith or none at all"), or by advancement of a particular religious belief, e.g., Stone v.
Jaffree, supra, at 56, 57, 60, 105 S.Ct., at 2489, 2490, 2491; Stone v.
Jaffree, 472 U.S.) was a United States Supreme Court case deciding on the issue of silent school prayer.
An Alabama law had required that each school day commence with a moment of "silent meditation or voluntary prayer", and a parent of a student sued the state, claiming that the law violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.
Board of Education, 330 U.S.) was flawed inasmuch as it was based on the writings of Thomas Jefferson, who was not the author of the Clause.
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