Lee v. Weisman

In its argument before the Supreme Court, the petitioners maintained that prayer represents an appropriate and effective means to enable students and parents to seek spiritual guidance at important events such as school graduations. The Court was unmoved by either this logic or the prevailing conservative political climate, however, and upheld the ruling of the appeals court by a vote of 5-4. Justice Kennedy, writing for the majority, made a distinction between this case and Marsh v. Chambers, when the Court had ruled that the use of a prayer to open a state legislature's session did not constitute a violation of the Establishment Clause. Kennedy maintained that the opening of a legislature, comprising entirely adults who are there of their own free will cannot be realistically compared to a school graduation, where numerous peer, parental, and social pressures for attendance exist. The Court also noted that school children are particularly susceptible to coercion through the schools, and as such the behavior of schools with regard to the Establishment Clause must be able to withstand especially careful scrutiny. Justices Blackmun, O'Connor, and Stevens concurred, adding that the Lemon Test was applicable and represented a straightforward means of assessing compliance with the Establishment Clause. Justices O'Connor, Souter, and Stevens also wrote separately to maintain that the Establishment Clause should not only be construed as prohibiting the government from favoring one religion over another, but also as barring government support for religion as opposed to nonreligion. Justices Rehnquist, Thomas, and White, in dissenting from the majority, noted the pervasive tradition of using prayers as invocations and benedictions at a number of nonreligious events, viewing such prayers as being essentially nonreligious in intent when used in this manner.