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Lemon v. Kurtzman

Significance, Supreme Court Establishes The Lemon Test, Further Readings



Appellant

Alton J. Lemon

Appellee

David H. Kurtzman, Superintendent of Public Instruction of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

Appellant's Claim

That state payment of teachers of secular subjects in parochial schools violates the First Amendment mandate of separation of church and state.

Chief Lawyer for Appellant

Henry W. Sawyer III

Chief Lawyer for Appellee

J. Shane Creamer

Justices for the Court

Hugo Lafayette Black, Harry A. Blackmun, William J. Brennan, Jr., Warren E. Burger (writing for the Court), William O. Douglas, John Marshall Harlan II, Potter Stewart, Byron R. White

Justices Dissenting

None (Thurgood Marshall did not participate)

Place

Washington, D.C.

Date of Decision

28 June 1971

Decision

The Supreme Court struck down the state laws enabling such payments.

Related Cases

  • Everson v. Board of Education, 330 U.S. 1 (1947).
  • McCollum v. Board of Education for District 71, 333 U.S. 203 (1948).
  • Abington School District v. Schempp, 374 U.S. 203 (1963).
  • Board of Education v. Allen, 392 U.S. 236 (1968).
  • Aguilar v. Felton, 473 U.S. 402 (1985).
  • Agostini v. Felton, 117 S. Ct. 1997 (1997).

Additional topics

Law Library - American Law and Legal InformationNotable Trials and Court Cases - 1963 to 1972