The Law Dictionary for Everyone
Following is the case brief for Trinity Lutheran Church of Columbia, Inc. v. Comer, 137 S. Ct. 2012 (2017) Case Summary of Trinity Lutheran Church of Columbia, Inc. v. Comer: Trinity Lutheran Church has a Child Learning Center with a playground. It sought to resurface the playground with rubber by obtaining a grant through the State of Missouri’s Scrap Tire […]
Read moreFollowing is the case brief for Locke v. Davey, 540 U.S. 712 (2004) Case Summary of Locke v. Davey: Washington State has a Promise Scholarship Program to help high-achieving college students with expenses. The scholarship cannot be used if a student is studying a devotional theology degree. Respondent Davey, a scholarship winner, sued in federal court upon learning that his […]
Read moreFollowing is the case brief for Town of Greece v. Galloway, 134 U.S. 1811 (2014) Case Summary of Town of Greece v. Galloway: The Town of Greece, for over a decade, began its town hall meetings with a prayer. The prayers, given by someone from a house of worship in the town, were virtually always Christian prayers. Citizens of the […]
Read moreThe Lemon Test is a test courts use to determine whether governmental action violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment of the Constitution. For example, the Lemon Test is a court’s tool used to rule on whether the government tried to prohibit the freedom of religious expression. Courts can also use the Test to determine whether the government attempted […]
Read moreFollowing is the case brief for Lynch v. Donnelly, 465 U.S. 668 (1984) Case Summary of Lynch v. Donnelly: The City of Pawtucket has displayed a creche (Nativity scene) for the last 40 years as part of its annual Christmas display in the center of town. Respondents challenged the creche display as a violation of the Establishment Clause of the […]
Read moreFollowing is the case brief for Santa Fe Independent School Dist. v. Doe, 530 U.S. 290 (2000) Case Summary of Santa Fe Independent School Dist. v. Doe: Santa Fe High School had a student school chaplain, approved by the school administration, who would read prayers over the public announcement system before home football games. Several families filed suit, claiming that […]
Read moreFollowing is the case brief for City of Boerne v. Flores, 521 U.S. 507 (1997) Case Summary of City of Boerne v. Flores: A Catholic Archbishop wanted to expand a church in Boerne, Texas. Local ordinances prohibited the expansion, and thus the request to expand was denied. The Archbishop challenged the denial, claiming in part that it violated the Religious […]
Read moreFollowing is the case brief for Van Orden v. Perry, 545 U.S. 677 (2005) Case Summary of Van Orden v. Perry: Thomas Van Orden sued the State of Texas in federal court, claiming that a monument of the Ten Commandments sitting on the grounds of the State capitol building violated the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause. Both the federal district court […]
Read moreFollowing is the case brief for Epperson v. Arkansas, 393 U.S. 97 (1968) Case Summary of Epperson v. Arkansas: The State of Arkansas passed a law in 1928 that made it a criminal offense to teach evolution in public schools A teacher, Epperson, in the 1965-66 term was told to teach from a new textbook that had a chapter on […]
Read moreFollowing is the case brief for Abington Tp. v. Schempp, 374 U.S. 203 (1963) Case Summary of Abington Tp. v. Schempp: This case involves two companion cases, one from Pennsylvania and the other from Maryland. Both Pennsylvania and Maryland passed laws requiring readings from the Holy Bible in public school at the opening of school each day. The Maryland law […]
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