Lynch, Mayor of Pawtucket, et al. v. Donnelly et al.

Decided March 5, 1984. Warren Earl Burger delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 82-1256 · 465 U.S. 668 (1984) · Cited 1,263 times

Holding

Notwithstanding the religious significance of the creche, Pawtucket has not violated the Establishment 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.

“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.

• Lemon v. Kurtzman · 403 U.S. 602 (1971)
• Committee for Public Education & Religious Liberty v. Nyquist · 413 U.S. 756 (1973)
• McGowan v. Maryland · 366 U.S. 420 (1961)
• Walz v. Tax Comm'n of City of New York · 397 U.S. 664 (1970)
• Marsh v. Chambers · 463 U.S. 783 (1983)
• Engel v. Vitale · 370 U.S. 421 (1962)
• Everson v. Board of Ed. of Ewing · 330 U.S. 1 (1947)
• Zorach v. Clauson · 343 U.S. 306 (1952)
• Stone v. Graham · 449 U.S. 39 (1980)
• Larson v. Valente · 456 U.S. 228 (1982)
• Larkin v. Grendel's Den, Inc. · 459 U.S. 116 (1982)
• Illinois Ex Rel. McCollum v. Board of Ed. of School Dist. No. 71, Champaign Cty. · 333 U.S. 203 (1948)
• Tilton v. Richardson · 403 U.S. 672 (1971)
• Widmar v. Vincent · 454 U.S. 263 (1981)
• Epperson v. Arkansas · 393 U.S. 97 (1968)
• Mueller v. Allen · 463 U.S. 388 (1983)
• Wolman v. Walter · 433 U.S. 229 (1977)
• Board of Ed. of Central School Dist. No. 1 v. Allen · 392 U.S. 236 (1968)
• Meek v. Pittenger · 421 U.S. 349 (1975)
• Hunt v. McNair · 413 U.S. 734 (1973)
• Pullman-Standard v. Swint · 456 U.S. 273 (1982)
• Reynolds v. United States · 98 U.S. 145 (1879)
• Church of the Holy Trinity v. United States · 143 U.S. 457 (1892)
• Myers v. United States · 272 U.S. 52 (1926)
• Torcaso v. Watkins · 367 U.S. 488 (1961)
• Roemer v. Board of Public Works of Md. · 426 U.S. 736 (1976)
• Committee for Public Education & Religious Liberty v. Regan · 444 U.S. 646 (1980)
• Levitt v. Committee for Public Education & Religious Liberty · 413 U.S. 472 (1973)

Cited by

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

• County of Allegheny v. American Civil Liberties Union · 492 U.S. 573 (1989)
• Wallace v. Jaffree · 472 U.S. 38 (1985)
• Capitol Square Review & Advisory Board v. Pinette · 515 U.S. 753 (1995)
• Van Orden v. Perry · 545 U.S. 677 (2005)
• McCreary County v. American Civil Liberties Union of Ky. · 545 U.S. 844 (2005)
• Elk Grove Unified School District v. Newdow · 542 U.S. 1 (2004)
• Edwards v. Aguillard · 482 U.S. 578 (1987)
• Bowen v. Kendrick · 487 U.S. 589 (1988)
• Lee v. Weisman · 505 U.S. 577 (1992)
• Santa Fe Independent School District v. Doe · 530 U.S. 290 (2000)
• Town of Greece v. Galloway · 572 U.S. 565 (2014)
• Salazar v. Buono · 559 U.S. 700 (2010)
• Lamb's Chapel v. Center Moriches Union Free School District · 508 U.S. 384 (1993)
• Corporation of the Presiding Bishop of Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints v. Amos · 483 U.S. 327 (1987)
• Hein v. Freedom From Religion Foundation, Inc. · 551 U.S. 587 (2007)
• Texas Monthly, Inc. v. Bullock · 489 U.S. 1 (1989)
• Witters v. Washington Department of Services for the Blind · 474 U.S. 481 (1986)
• Espinoza v. Montana Dept. of Revenue · 591 U.S. 464 (2020)
• American Legion v. American Humanist Assn. · 588 U.S. 29 (2019)
• Rosenberger v. Rector & Visitors of University of Virginia · 515 U.S. 819 (1995)
• Board of Ed. of Westside Community Schools (Dist. 66) v. Mergens · 496 U.S. 226 (1990)
• School District of Grand Rapids v. Ball · 473 U.S. 373 (1985)
• Zelman v. Simmons-Harris · 536 U.S. 639 (2002)
• Aguilar v. Felton · 473 U.S. 402 (1985)
• Shurtleff v. Boston · 596 U.S. 243 (2022)
• City of Boerne v. Flores · 521 U.S. 507 (1997)
• Agostini v. Felton · 521 U.S. 203 (1997)
• Hernandez v. Commissioner · 490 U.S. 680 (1989)
• McIntyre v. Ohio Elections Commission · 514 U.S. 334 (1995)
• Trump v. Hawaii · 585 U.S. 667 (2018)

Official text

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

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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1984). 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).