Marsh, Nebraska State Treasurer, et al. v. Chambers

Decided July 5, 1983. Warren Earl Burger delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 82-23 · 463 U.S. 783 (1983) · Cited 634 times

Holding

The Nebraska Legislature's chaplaincy practice does not violate 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 6–3.

“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)
• Walz v. Tax Comm'n of City of New York · 397 U.S. 664 (1970)
• Engel v. Vitale · 370 U.S. 421 (1962)
• McGowan v. Maryland · 366 U.S. 420 (1961)
• Zorach v. Clauson · 343 U.S. 306 (1952)
• Larson v. Valente · 456 U.S. 228 (1982)
• Larkin v. Grendel's Den, Inc. · 459 U.S. 116 (1982)
• Everson v. Board of Ed. of Ewing · 330 U.S. 1 (1947)
• Committee for Public Education & Religious Liberty v. Nyquist · 413 U.S. 756 (1973)
• Stone v. Graham · 449 U.S. 39 (1980)
• Harris v. McRae · 448 U.S. 297 (1980)
• Widmar v. Vincent · 454 U.S. 263 (1981)
• Epperson v. Arkansas · 393 U.S. 97 (1968)
• City of Mobile v. Bolden · 446 U.S. 55 (1980)
• Tilton v. Richardson · 403 U.S. 672 (1971)
• Torcaso v. Watkins · 367 U.S. 488 (1961)
• Rogers v. Lodge · 458 U.S. 613 (1982)
• McDaniel v. Paty · 435 U.S. 618 (1978)
• Katz v. United States · 389 U.S. 347 (1967)
• Brown v. Board of Education · 347 U.S. 483 (1954)
• Cantwell v. Connecticut · 310 U.S. 296 (1940)
• Wisconsin v. Yoder · 406 U.S. 205 (1972)
• Sherbert v. Verner · 374 U.S. 398 (1963)
• West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette · 319 U.S. 624 (1943)
• Trop v. Dulles · 356 U.S. 86 (1958)
• Reynolds v. United States · 98 U.S. 145 (1879)
• Thomas v. Review Board of the Indiana Employment Security Division · 450 U.S. 707 (1981)
• Frontiero v. Richardson · 411 U.S. 677 (1973)
• Church of the Holy Trinity v. United States · 143 U.S. 457 (1892)
• Murdock v. Pennsylvania · 319 U.S. 105 (1943)

Cited by

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

• Town of Greece v. Galloway · 572 U.S. 565 (2014)
• County of Allegheny v. American Civil Liberties Union · 492 U.S. 573 (1989)
• Lee v. Weisman · 505 U.S. 577 (1992)
• McCreary County v. American Civil Liberties Union of Ky. · 545 U.S. 844 (2005)
• Van Orden v. Perry · 545 U.S. 677 (2005)
• Lynch v. Donnelly · 465 U.S. 668 (1984)
• Wallace v. Jaffree · 472 U.S. 38 (1985)
• American Legion v. American Humanist Assn. · 588 U.S. 29 (2019)
• Gall v. United States · 552 U.S. 38 (2007)
• Rosenberger v. Rector & Visitors of University of Virginia · 515 U.S. 819 (1995)
• Printz v. United States · 521 U.S. 898 (1997)
• Elk Grove Unified School District v. Newdow · 542 U.S. 1 (2004)
• Edwards v. Aguillard · 482 U.S. 578 (1987)
• Lamb's Chapel v. Center Moriches Union Free School District · 508 U.S. 384 (1993)
• School District of Grand Rapids v. Ball · 473 U.S. 373 (1985)
• Harmelin v. Michigan · 501 U.S. 957 (1991)
• Bowsher v. Synar · 478 U.S. 714 (1986)
• Santa Fe Independent School District v. Doe · 530 U.S. 290 (2000)
• United States v. Rahimi · 602 U.S. 680 (2024)
• United States v. Villamonte-Marquez · 462 U.S. 579 (1983)
• Fulton v. Philadelphia · 593 U.S. 522 (2021)
• United States ex rel. Polansky v. Executive Health Resources, Inc. · 599 U.S. 419 (2023)
• Fuld v. Palestine Liberation Organization · 606 U.S. 1 (2025)
• Shurtleff v. Boston · 596 U.S. 243 (2022)
• Catholic Charities Bureau, Inc. v. Wisconsin Labor and Industry Review Comm'n. · 605 U.S. 238 (2025)

Official text

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

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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1983). 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).