Lemon v. Kurtzman

Lemon v. Kurtzman
Supreme Court of the United States
Argued March 3, 1971
Decided June 28, 1971
Full case nameAlton T. Lemon, et al. v. David H. Kurtzman, Superintendent of Public Instruction of Pennsylvania, et al.; John R. Earley, et al. v. John DiCenso, et al.; William P. Robinson, Jr. v. John DiCenso, et al.
Citations403 U.S. 602 (more)
91 S. Ct. 2105; 29 L. Ed. 2d 745; 1971 U.S. LEXIS 19
Case history
PriorLemon v. Kurtzman, 310 F. Supp. 35 (E.D. Pa. 1969); probable jurisdiction noted, 397 U.S. 1034 (1970);
DiCenso v. Robinson, 316 F. Supp. 112 (D.R.I. 1970); probable jurisdiction noted, consolidated, 400 U.S. 901 (1970).
SubsequentOn remand to 348 F. Supp. 300 (E.D. Pa. 1972), affirmed, 411 U.S. 192 (1973)
Holding
For a law to be considered constitutional under the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, the law must (1) have a legitimate secular purpose, (2) not have the primary effect of either advancing or inhibiting religion and (3) not result in an excessive entanglement of government and religion.
Court membership
Chief Justice
Warren E. Burger
Associate Justices
Hugo Black · William O. Douglas
John M. Harlan II · William J. Brennan Jr.
Potter Stewart · Byron White
Thurgood Marshall · Harry Blackmun
Case opinions
MajorityBurger, joined by Black, Douglas, Harlan, Stewart, Marshall, Blackmun
ConcurrenceDouglas, joined by Black, Brennan, Marshall (who filed a separate statement)
Concur/dissentWhite
Laws applied
U.S. Const. amend. I; R.I. Gen. Laws Ann. 16-51-1 et seq. (Supp. 1970); Pa. Stat. Ann. tit. 24, §§ 5601-5609 (Supp. 1971)
Abrogated by
Kennedy v. Bremerton School District (2022)

Lemon v. Kurtzman, 403 U.S. 602 (1971), was a case argued before the Supreme Court of the United States.[1] The court ruled in an 8–0 decision that Pennsylvania's Nonpublic Elementary and Secondary Education Act (represented through David Kurtzman) from 1968 was unconstitutional and in an 8–1 decision that Rhode Island's 1969 Salary Supplement Act was unconstitutional, violating the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.[2] The act allowed the Superintendent of Public Schools to reimburse private schools (mostly Catholic) for the salaries of teachers who taught in these private elementary schools from public textbooks and with public instructional materials.[3]

  1. ^ Lemon v. Kurtzman, 403 U.S. 602 (1971).
  2. ^ "Lemon v. Kurtzman". Oyez. Retrieved November 1, 2017.
  3. ^ DiCenso v. Robinson, 316 F. Supp. 112 (D.R.I. 1970).