Edwards v. Aguillard

Appellant

Edwin W. Edwards, Governor of Louisiana

Appellee

Don Aguillard

Appellant's Claim

The Creationism Act was legal.

Chief Lawyer for Appellant

Wendell R. Bird, Special Assistant Attorney General of Georgia

Chief Lawyer for Appellee

Jay Topkis

Justices for the Court

Harry A. Blackmun, William J. Brennan, Jr. (writing for the Court), Thurgood Marshall, Sandra Day O'Connor, Lewis F. Powell, Jr., John Paul Stevens, Byron R. White

Justices Dissenting

William H. Rehnquist, Antonin Scalia

Place

Washington, D.C.

Date of Decision

19 June 1987

Decision

The Creationism Act violated the Establishment Clause and was therefore unconstitutional.

Related Cases

• Everson v. Board of Education, 330 U.S. 1 (1947).
• McGowan v. Maryland, 366 U.S. 429 (1961).
• Engel v. Vitale, 370 U.S. 421 (1962).
• Lemon v. Kurtzman, 403 U.S. 602 (1971).
• Committee for Public Education and Religious Liberty v. Nyquist, 413 U.S. 756 (1973).

Sources

Sanders, Alain I. "LAW: Memories of the Monkey Trial."Time, 29 June 1997.

Further Readings

• Benen, Steve. "Evolving Debate." Church & State, October 1998, p. 13.
• Biskupic, Joan, and Elder Witt, eds. Congressional Quarterly's Guide to the U.S. Supreme Court, 3rd ed. Washington, DC: Congressional Quarterly, Inc., 1996.
• Lemonick, Michael D. "Dumping on Darwin." Time, March 18, 1996, p. 81.
• Schmidt, Karen. "Creationists Evolve New Strategy." Science, July 26, 1996, p. 420.