Thomas v. Review Board of the Indiana Employment Security Division - Significance, The Lower Court Rulings, The Supreme Court Decides
william petitioner paul exercise
Petitioner
Eddie C. Thomas
Respondent
Review Board of the Indiana Employment Security Division
Petitioner's Claim
That the Indiana Employment Security Division's refusal to grant unemployment benefits to Thomas, a Jehovah's Witness who quit his job for religious reasons, violated his right to free exercise of religion.
Chief Lawyer for Petitioner
Blanca Bianchi de la Torre
Chief Lawyer for Respondent
William E. Daily
Justices for the Court
Harry A. Blackmun, William J. Brennan, Jr., Warren E. Burger (writing for the Court), Thurgood Marshall, Lewis F. Powell, Jr., John Paul Stevens, Potter Stewart, Byron R. White
Justices Dissenting
William H. Rehnquist
Place
Washington, D.C.
Date of Decision
6 April 1981
Decision
The Indiana Employment Security Division did in fact violate Thomas' constitutional right to free exercise of religion under the First Amendment.
Related Cases
- Stromberg v. California, 283 U.S. 359 (1931).
- Cantwell v. Connecticut, 310 U.S. 296 (1940).
- Everson v. Board of Education, 330 U.S. 1 (1947).
- Walz v. Tax Commisioner, 397 U.S. 664 (1970).
- Wisconsin v. Yoder, 406 U.S. 205 (1972).
Further Readings
- Ducat, Craig R. and Harold W. Chase. Constitutional Interpretation. St. Paul, MN: West Publishing Company, 1988.
- Greenslaw, Paul S., and John P. Kohl. "Religious Freedom and Unemployment Compensation Benefits." Public Personnel Management, Fall 1995.
- Seeger, Steven C. "Restoring Rights to Rites." Michigan Law Review, March 1997, p. 1472.
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