County of Allegheny et al. v. American Civil Liberties Union, Greater Pittsburgh Chapter, et al.

Decided July 2, 1989. Harry Andrew Blackmun delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 87-2050 · 492 U.S. 573 (1989) · Cited 1,111 times

We don’t yet publish a summary of this opinion — read the official text below for the Court’s holding and reasoning.

How the Justices voted

Decided 5–4.

“Concurring” means agreeing with the outcome; any split shown is the Court’s judgment, not each Justice’s reasoning. Source: the Supreme Court Database (Spaeth et al.), Washington University.

Precedents cited

Supreme Court decisions this opinion relies on, ordered by how often it cites each. Cases in our collection link through; others are named.

• Lynch v. Donnelly · 465 U.S. 668 (1984)
• Marsh v. Chambers · 463 U.S. 783 (1983)
• Wallace v. Jaffree · 472 U.S. 38 (1985)
• Lemon v. Kurtzman · 403 U.S. 602 (1971)
• Engel v. Vitale · 370 U.S. 421 (1962)
• Everson v. Board of Ed. of Ewing · 330 U.S. 1 (1947)
• Walz v. Tax Comm'n of City of New York · 397 U.S. 664 (1970)
• School District of Grand Rapids v. Ball · 473 U.S. 373 (1985)
• Texas Monthly, Inc. v. Bullock · 489 U.S. 1 (1989)
• Edwards v. Aguillard · 482 U.S. 578 (1987)
• Committee for Public Education & Religious Liberty v. Nyquist · 413 U.S. 756 (1973)
• Stone v. Graham · 449 U.S. 39 (1980)
• Mueller v. Allen · 463 U.S. 388 (1983)
• Widmar v. Vincent · 454 U.S. 263 (1981)
• Zorach v. Clauson · 343 U.S. 306 (1952)
• Larson v. Valente · 456 U.S. 228 (1982)
• Corporation of the Presiding Bishop of Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints v. Amos · 483 U.S. 327 (1987)
• Bowen v. Kendrick · 487 U.S. 589 (1988)
• McGowan v. Maryland · 366 U.S. 420 (1961)
• Epperson v. Arkansas · 393 U.S. 97 (1968)
• Tilton v. Richardson · 403 U.S. 672 (1971)
• Larkin v. Grendel's Den, Inc. · 459 U.S. 116 (1982)
• Aguilar v. Felton · 473 U.S. 402 (1985)
• Illinois Ex Rel. McCollum v. Board of Ed. of School Dist. No. 71, Champaign Cty. · 333 U.S. 203 (1948)
• Torcaso v. Watkins · 367 U.S. 488 (1961)
• Goldman v. Weinberger · 475 U.S. 503 (1986)
• Roemer v. Board of Public Works of Md. · 426 U.S. 736 (1976)
• Meek v. Pittenger · 421 U.S. 349 (1975)
• Hunt v. McNair · 413 U.S. 734 (1973)
• Witters v. Washington Department of Services for the Blind · 474 U.S. 481 (1986)

Cited by

Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.

• Capitol Square Review & Advisory Board v. Pinette · 515 U.S. 753 (1995)
• Van Orden v. Perry · 545 U.S. 677 (2005)
• Lee v. Weisman · 505 U.S. 577 (1992)
• Town of Greece v. Galloway · 572 U.S. 565 (2014)
• American Legion v. American Humanist Assn. · 588 U.S. 29 (2019)
• Elk Grove Unified School District v. Newdow · 542 U.S. 1 (2004)
• Salazar v. Buono · 559 U.S. 700 (2010)
• Board of Ed. of Westside Community Schools (Dist. 66) v. Mergens · 496 U.S. 226 (1990)
• McCreary County v. American Civil Liberties Union of Ky. · 545 U.S. 844 (2005)
• Trinity Lutheran Church of Columbia, Inc. v. Comer · 582 U.S. 449 (2017)
• Board of Ed. of Kiryas Joel Village School Dist. v. Grumet · 512 U.S. 687 (1994)
• Shurtleff v. Boston · 596 U.S. 243 (2022)
• Carey v. Musladin · 549 U.S. 70 (2006)
• Kennedy v. Bremerton School Dist. · 597 U.S. 507 (2022)
• Rosenberger v. Rector & Visitors of University of Virginia · 515 U.S. 819 (1995)
• Lamb's Chapel v. Center Moriches Union Free School District · 508 U.S. 384 (1993)
• Good News Club v. Milford Central School · 533 U.S. 98 (2001)
• Mitchell v. Helms · 530 U.S. 793 (2000)
• Seminole Tribe of Florida v. Florida · 517 U.S. 44 (1996)
• United States v. Lopez · 514 U.S. 549 (1995)
• Pleasant Grove City v. Summum · 555 U.S. 460 (2009)
• Ramos v. Louisiana · 590 U.S. 83 (2020)
• Jimmy Swaggart Ministries v. Board of Equalization of California · 493 U.S. 378 (1990)

Official text

Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)

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Source: the U.S. Reports via govinfo.gov; authoring Justice and vote lineup from the Supreme Court Database (Washington University). Citation count from the Free Law Project’s CourtListener bulk data. Data last verified 2026-07-03. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).