Case Name: Wallace v. Jaffree
Year: Argued 1984 ; Decided 1985
Result: 6-3 in favor of Jaffree
Related Constitutional Issue/ Amendment: 1st Amendment dealing with the Establishment of Religion
Civil Rights or Civil Liberties: Civil Liberties
Significance/ Precedent: The court applied the Secular Purpose Test to Alabama's prayer and mediation to see if their actual purpose was to endorse or disapprove religion. The Court held that Alabama’s law regarding prayer in schools was a violation on the 1st amendment’s Establishment Clause and is therefore unconstitutional. This case was significant because it reinforced the protection against an establishment of religion.
Quote from Majority Opinion: “The State's endorsement of prayer activities at the beginning of each school day is not consistent with the established principle that the government must pursue a course of complete neutrality toward religion.”
6-Word Summary: Prayers in classrooms violates establishment clause
Year: Argued 1984 ; Decided 1985
Result: 6-3 in favor of Jaffree
Related Constitutional Issue/ Amendment: 1st Amendment dealing with the Establishment of Religion
Civil Rights or Civil Liberties: Civil Liberties
Significance/ Precedent: The court applied the Secular Purpose Test to Alabama's prayer and mediation to see if their actual purpose was to endorse or disapprove religion. The Court held that Alabama’s law regarding prayer in schools was a violation on the 1st amendment’s Establishment Clause and is therefore unconstitutional. This case was significant because it reinforced the protection against an establishment of religion.
Quote from Majority Opinion: “The State's endorsement of prayer activities at the beginning of each school day is not consistent with the established principle that the government must pursue a course of complete neutrality toward religion.”
6-Word Summary: Prayers in classrooms violates establishment clause