Mueller v. Allen - Significance, Tax Breaks For All--in Theory, Applying The "lemon Test", A Strong Dissent

petitioners religious william decision

Petitioners

Van D. Mueller and June Noyes

Respondent

Clyde E. Allen, Minnesota Commissioner of Revenue

Petitioners' Claim

That a Minnesota statute allowing parents to deduct certain school expenses on their state income tax promoted religious schooling, violating the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.

Chief Lawyer for Petitioners

William I. Kampf

Chief Lawyer for Respondent

Douglas C. Blomgren

Justices for the Court

Warren E. Burger, Sandra Day O'Connor, Lewis F. Powell, Jr., William H. Rehnquist (writing for the Court), Byron R. White

Justices Dissenting

Harry A. Blackmun, William J. Brennan, Jr., Thurgood Marshall, John Paul Stevens

Place

Washington, D.C.

Date of Decision

29 June 1983

Decision

Affirmed the decision of the lower courts that the tax statute did not violate the Establishment Clause.

Related Cases

Lemon v. Kurtzman, 403 U.S. 602 (1971).
Committee for Public Education and Religious Liberty v. Nyquist, 413 U.S. 756 (1973).
Aguilar v. Felton, 473 U.S. 402 (1985).

Sources

Eastland, Terry. Religious Liberty in the Supreme Court. Washington, DC: Ethics and Public Policy Center, 1993.

Additional Topics

Mueller v. Allen - Tax Breaks For All--in Theory

In 1955, the state of Minnesota allowed parents to deduct certain expenses on their state income tax relating to their children's education. The deductions were for tuition, books, and transportation, up to $500 for each student in grades K-6 and $700 for students in grades 7-12. Parents of students in either public or private schools could claim the deduction. The deduction for tuition applied al…

Mueller v. Allen - Applying The "lemon Test"

The Court affirmed the ruling of the lower court. In his opinion, Justice Rehnquist acknowledged that "Today's case is no exception to our oft-repeated statement that the Establishment Clause presents especially difficult questions of interpretation and application." But in 1971, in Lemon v. Kurtzman the Court created a test since adopted in other Establishment Clause cases. The so-called "Lemon t…

Mueller v. Allen - A Strong Dissent

The Mueller decision spelled out the way states could help parents who sent their children to private schools, by allowing tax breaks apply to everyone. However, the dissenters in Mueller thought the decision ignored the true effect of Minnesota tax law: the subsidization of religious instruction. In his dissent, Justice Marshall opined that the Establishment Clause applied whether a subsidy for s…

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