Board of Education of Kiryas Joel v. Grumet

The Supreme Court heard arguments in the case on 30 March 1994, and many legal observers were eager to see if the Court would use the case as a platform for the confirmation, amendment, or overthrow of the three-pronged Lemon test for determining violations of the Establishment Clause. However, when the Court's decision was handed down on 27 June 1994, the use of Lemon as a test was neither confirmed nor abandoned. The Court upheld the rulings of the New York state trial and appeals courts by a 6-3 margin. Justice Souter, writing for the majority, maintained that this case more closely resembled Larkin v. Grendel's Den (1982) than Lemon. In Larkin, the Court struck down a Massachusetts state statute allowing religious bodies the ability to veto applications for liquor licenses by establishments planning to operate within 500 feet of any church, synagogue, or parochial school. Stating that although the state had a legitimate interest in protecting religious organizations, allowing such organizations veto power over a state regulatory function created an unconstitutional "fusion of governmental and religious functions." Souter further elaborated the similarity between Board of Education of Kiryas Joel v. Grumet and Larkin, pointing out that

the Establishment Clause problem presented by Chapter 748 is more subtle, but it resembles the issue raised in Larkin to the extent that the earlier case teaches that a State may not delegate its civic authority to a group chosen according to religious criterion.

Significantly, despite its reliance on Larkin, the Court also made reference to Lemon, in that by accommodating the needs of a particular religious sect, Chapter 748 had the effect of advancing religion. Justice O'Connor, while concurring with the majority, advanced the position that Chapter 748 was unconstitutional only in that it provided no assurance that the state would provide similar benefits "equally to other religious (and nonreligious) groups."