Lemon v. Kurtzman

Lemon v. Kurtzman

Year:Decided on June,28,1971

Results:8 votes Lemon,0 votes against, in favor of Lemon

Constitutional Issue:The "Establishment Clause" under the 1st amendment

Civil Rights/Liberties:Civil Liberties

Significance:It established the "Lemon Test," which is a 3 ruled test to determine if a statute violated the "Establishment Clause"

Quote from Majority Opinion:Justice Burger wrote the majority opinion and it said "There are three criteria that should be used to assess legislation: "First, the statute must have a secular legislative purpose; second, its principal or primary effect must be one that neither advances or inhibits religion; finally, the statute must not foster and excessive government Entanglement with religion." The two statutes in question violate the third of these criteria. The teachers whose salaries are being partially paid by the State are religious agents who work under the control of religious officials. There is an inherent conflict in this situation of which the state should remain clear. To ensure that teachers play a non-ideological role would require the state to become entangled with the church. Allowing this relationship could lead to political problems in areas in which a large number of students attend religious schools"

Dissent:There was none

6 Word Summary:Lemon test established by the court