Lyng v. Northwest Indian Cemetery Protection Association - Significance, The Majority Opinion, The Dissent, Impact, Further Readings

petitioner justices court violation

Petitioner

Richard E. Lyng, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture

Respondent

Northwest Indian Cemetery Protection Association, et al.

Petitioner's Claim

Construction of a road and harvesting of timber through areas held sacred by Native American was in violation of their rights under the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment and also in violation of various federal statutes.

Chief Defense for Petitioner

Andrew J. Pincus

Chief Lawyer for Respondent

Marilyn B. Miles

Justices for the Court

Sandra Day O'Connor (writing for the Court), William H. Rehnquist, Antonin Scalia, John Paul Stevens, Byron R. White

Justices Dissenting

Harry A. Blackmun, William J. Brennan, Jr., Thurgood Marshall (Anthony M. Kennedy did not participate)

Place

Washington, D.C.

Date of Decision

19 April 1988

Decision

Construction of the proposed road does not violate the First Amendment regardless of its effect on the religious practices of respondents because it compels no behavior contrary to their belief.

Related Cases

Sherbert v. Verner, 374 U.S. 398 (1963).
Wisconsin v. Yoder, 406 U.S. 205 (1972).
Thomas v. Review Board, Indiana Employment Security Div., 450 U.S. 707 (1981).
Bowen v. Roy, 476 U.S. 693 (1986).

Additional Topics

Lyng v. Northwest Indian Cemetery Protection Association - Significance

Strengthened federal government's right to make land-use and other decisions in spite of the objections of religious minorities. In the 1970s the U.S. Forest Service planned to build a road through the Chimney Rock section of the Six Rivers National Forest to link the California towns of Gasquet and Orleans. The section through which the road was planned was held sacred by Native American tribes r…

Lyng v. Northwest Indian Cemetery Protection Association - The Majority Opinion

The Court ruled 5-3 (Justice Kennedy abstained) in favor of the petitioner on constitutional grounds and remanded the case for further proceedings on the statutory issues, which the government claimed it could resolve. The majority found that both lower courts had not proceeded according to the principle of judicial economy, under which constitutional questions are not addressed unless necessary. …

Lyng v. Northwest Indian Cemetery Protection Association - The Dissent

The minority, in an opinion written by Justice Brennan, took a more expansive view of the Free Exercise Clause, declaring that it "is directed against any form of governmental action that frustrates or inhibits religious practice," a claim the majority had flatly rejected by saying, "The Constitution, however, says no such thing," and quoting the First Amendment: "Congress shall make no law . . pr…

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