Abington School District v. Schempp

Abington School District v. Schempp
Argued February 27–28, 1963
Decided June 17, 1963
Full case nameSchool District of Abington Township, Pennsylvania, et al. v. Edward Schempp, et al.; Murray, et al. v. Curlett, et al., Constituting the Board of School Commissioners of Baltimore City
Citations374 U.S. 203 (more)
83 S. Ct. 1560; 10 L. Ed. 2d 844; 1963 U.S. LEXIS 2611
Case history
PriorSchempp v. School District of Abington Township, 201 F. Supp. 815 (E.D. Pa. 1962); probable jurisdiction noted, 371 U.S. 807 (1962).
Murray v. Curlett, 228 Md. 239, 179 A.2d 698 (1962); cert. granted, 371 U.S. 809 (1962).
Holding
Legally sanctioned or officially mandated Bible reading and prayer in public schools is unconstitutional.
Court membership
Chief Justice
Earl Warren
Associate Justices
Hugo Black · William O. Douglas
Tom C. Clark · John M. Harlan II
William J. Brennan Jr. · Potter Stewart
Byron White · Arthur Goldberg
Case opinions
MajorityClark, joined by Warren, Black, Douglas, Harlan, Brennan, White, Goldberg
ConcurrenceDouglas
ConcurrenceBrennan
ConcurrenceGoldberg, joined by Harlan
DissentStewart
Laws applied
U.S. Const. amends. I, XIV

Abington School District v. Schempp, 374 U.S. 203 (1963),[1] was a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court decided 8–1 in favor of the respondent, Edward Schempp, on behalf of his son Ellery Schempp, and declared that school-sponsored Bible reading and the recitation of the Lord's Prayer in public schools in the United States was unconstitutional.[2][3]

  1. ^ Abington School District v. Schempp, 374 U.S. 203 (1963).
  2. ^ Vile, John R. (2009). "Abington School District v. Schempp (1963)". The First Amendment Encyclopedia. Retrieved December 12, 2022.
  3. ^ "Abington School District v. Schempp, 374 U.S. 203 (1963)". Justia. Retrieved December 12, 2022.