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Stone v. Graham

Significance, Coercion In The Classroom?, The Secular Impact Of Religion, Impact, Further Readings



Petitioner

William C. Stone, et al.

Respondent

James Graham, Superintendent of Public Instruction of Kentucky

Petitioner's Claim

That a Kentucky law requiring posting of the Ten Commandments in public schoolrooms violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.

Chief Lawyer for Petitioner

William C. Stone

Chief Lawyer for Respondent

Edward L. Fossett

Justices for the Court

William J. Brennan, Jr., Thurgood Marshall, Lewis F. Powell, Jr., William H. Rehnquist, John Paul Stevens, Byron R. White (unsigned)

Justices Dissenting

Warren E. Burger, Harry A. Blackmun, Potter Stewart

Place

Washington, D.C.

Date of Decision

17 November 1980

Decision

Upheld Stone's claim and overturned a Kentucky Supreme Court decision allowing copies of the Ten Commandments to be posted in all public classrooms for secular (non-religious) purposes.

Related Cases

  • Abington School District v. Schempp, 374 U.S. 203 (1963).
  • Lemon v. Kurtzman, 403 U.S. 602 (1971).
  • Lee v. Weisman, 505 V.S. 577 (1992).

Additional topics

Law Library - American Law and Legal InformationNotable Trials and Court Cases - 1973 to 1980