Topic
Establishment Clause
217 published works
School Law
Kennedy v. Bremerton School District: A Coach’s Prayers Are Answered
By Thomas B. Mooney, Natalia Sieira Millán
On June 27, 2022 the United States Supreme Court surprised many observers by holding that the free exercise and free speech rights of a football coach employed by a public…
Religion Clause
Posting Of National Motto In School Does Not Violate Establishment Clause
In JLF v. Tennessee State Board of Education, (MD TN, May 18, 2022), a Tennessee federal district court upheld Tennessee's statute that requires all public schools to post the national motto…
Religion Clause
City Council’s Opening Of Meetings With Lord’s Prayer Violates Establishment Clause
In Cobranchi v. City of Parkersburg, (D WV, May 17, 2022), a West Virginia federal district court held that Parkersburg's City Council violated the Establishment Clause by opening each of its…
Rocky Mountain Sign Law Blog
Supreme Court: Boston City Hall Plaza Flags Aren’t Government Speech
The City of Boston flies three flags in City Hall Plaza just outside the Boston City Hall: those of the United States, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and the City of…
Religion Clause
Unanimous Supreme Court Says Boston Violated Free Speech Clause In Barring Christian Flag Outside City Hall
In Shurtleff v. City of Boston, (Sup.Ct., May 2, 2022), the U.S. Supreme Court held unanimously that Boston violated the free speech rights of Camp Constitution when it refused to allow…
Religion Clause
Deputy Sheriff May Be Liable For Failing To Stop Fellow Officer From Carrying Out Coercive Baptism
In Riley v. Hamilton County Government, (ED TN, April 7, 2022), a Tennessee federal district court refused to dismiss an Establishment Clause, as well as a 4th Amendment, claim against…
Religion Clause
No Qualified Immunity For Requiring Patient To Attend Religious Service
In Erie v. Hunter, (MD LA, March 23, 2022), a Louisiana federal district court rejected a qualified immunity defense raised by a psychiatric aide employed by a state mental health facility. …
Religion Clause
Suit Challenges School Assembly Featuring Evangelical Minister
Suit was filed yesterday in a West Virginia federal district court by students at Huntington High School and their parents alleging that a school assembly featuring Nik Walker, a Christian…
The Right Coast
Last Gasp of the Plumed Knight?
Maine says it never had a Blaine Amendment, and its Attorney General merely determined that public funding of religious schools would violate the Establishment Clause. Meanwhile parochial schools can receive…
Nahmod Law
Recent Section 1983 Religion Decisions From The Circuits
The Establishment Clause In Woodring v. Jackson County, Indiana, 986 F.3d 979 (7th Cir. 2021), the Seventh Circuit, relying on the Supreme Court’s decision in American Legion, noted below, that…