Espinoza v. Montana Dept. of Revenue
Decided June 30, 2020. John Glover Roberts Jr. delivered the opinion of the Court.
Docket 18-1195 · 591 U.S. 464 (2020) · Cited 102 times
Holding
The application of the Montana Constitution’s “no-aid” provision to a state program providing tuition assistance to parents who send their children to private schools discriminated against religious schools and the families whose children attend or hope to attend them in violation of the Federal Constitution’s Free Exercise Clause.
The Court’s statement of the holding, from the opinion’s syllabus. The syllabus is prepared by the Reporter of Decisions and is not part of the opinion of the Court. Read the official opinion for authority.
How the Justices voted
Decided 5–4.
Majority · 5
- John G. Roberts, Jr. · delivered the opinion of the Court
- Clarence Thomas
- Samuel A. Alito, Jr. · filed a concurring opinion
- Neil M. Gorsuch · filed a concurring opinion
- Brett M. Kavanaugh
Dissenting · 4
- Sonia Sotomayor · filed a dissenting opinion
- Elena Kagan
- Stephen G. Breyer · filed a dissenting opinion
- Ruth Bader Ginsburg · filed a dissenting opinion
“Concurring” means agreeing with the outcome; any split shown is the Court’s judgment, not each Justice’s reasoning. The lineup is the syllabus’s disposition of who wrote and joined each opinion. Source: the opinion’s syllabus (supremecourt.gov).
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.
- Locke v. Davey · 540 U.S. 712 (2004)
- Trinity Lutheran Church of Columbia, Inc. v. Comer · 582 U.S. 449 (2017)
- Everson v. Board of Ed. of Ewing · 330 U.S. 1 (1947)
- McDaniel v. Paty · 435 U.S. 618 (1978)
- Walz v. Tax Comm'n of City of New York · 397 U.S. 664 (1970)
- Church of the Lukumi Babalu Aye, Inc. v. City of Hialeah · 508 U.S. 520 (1993)
- Sherbert v. Verner · 374 U.S. 398 (1963)
- Town of Greece v. Galloway · 572 U.S. 565 (2014)
- Wisconsin v. Yoder · 406 U.S. 205 (1972)
- Lyng v. Northwest Indian Cemetery Protective Assn. · 485 U.S. 439 (1988)
- Van Orden v. Perry · 545 U.S. 677 (2005)
- Mitchell v. Helms · 530 U.S. 793 (2000)
- Cutter v. Wilkinson · 544 U.S. 709 (2005)
- Committee for Public Education & Religious Liberty v. Nyquist · 413 U.S. 756 (1973)
- Tilton v. Richardson · 403 U.S. 672 (1971)
- Zelman v. Simmons-Harris · 536 U.S. 639 (2002)
- Thomas v. Review Board of the Indiana Employment Security Division · 450 U.S. 707 (1981)
- Widmar v. Vincent · 454 U.S. 263 (1981)
- Griffin v. School Bd. of Prince Edward Cty. · 377 U.S. 218 (1964)
- Cantwell v. Connecticut · 310 U.S. 296 (1940)
- Erznoznik v. City of Jacksonville · 422 U.S. 205 (1975)
- Lee v. Weisman · 505 U.S. 577 (1992)
- Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church & School v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission · 565 U.S. 171 (2012)
- American Legion v. American Humanist Assn. · 588 U.S. 29 (2019)
- Coleman v. Thompson · 501 U.S. 722 (1991)
- Allen v. Wright · 468 U.S. 737 (1984)
- Michigan v. Long · 463 U.S. 1032 (1983)
- Simon v. Eastern Kentucky Welfare Rights Organization · 426 U.S. 26 (1976)
- Flast v. Cohen · 392 U.S. 83 (1968)
- Ashwander v. Tennessee Valley Authority · 297 U.S. 288 (1936)
Official text
Read the official opinion (PDF, supremecourt.gov)
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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (2020). Citation count from the Free Law Project’s CourtListener bulk data. Data last verified 2026-08-15. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).