Mueller et al. v. Allen et al.

Decided June 29, 1983. William Hubbs Rehnquist delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 82-195 · 463 U.S. 388 (1983) · Cited 461 times

Holding

Section 290.09(22) does not violate the Establishment Clause, but satisfies all elements of the "three-part" test laid down in Lemon v.

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.

• Committee for Public Education & Religious Liberty v. Nyquist · 413 U.S. 756 (1973)
• Lemon v. Kurtzman · 403 U.S. 602 (1971)
• Meek v. Pittenger · 421 U.S. 349 (1975)
• Wolman v. Walter · 433 U.S. 229 (1977)
• Board of Ed. of Central School Dist. No. 1 v. Allen · 392 U.S. 236 (1968)
• Everson v. Board of Ed. of Ewing · 330 U.S. 1 (1947)
• Widmar v. Vincent · 454 U.S. 263 (1981)
• Walz v. Tax Comm'n of City of New York · 397 U.S. 664 (1970)
• Sloan v. Lemon · 413 U.S. 825 (1973)
• Hunt v. McNair · 413 U.S. 734 (1973)
• Regan v. Taxation With Representation of Washington · 461 U.S. 540 (1983)
• Madden v. Kentucky Ex Rel. Commissioner · 309 U.S. 83 (1940)
• Tilton v. Richardson · 403 U.S. 672 (1971)
• 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.

• Mitchell v. Helms · 530 U.S. 793 (2000)
• Zelman v. Simmons-Harris · 536 U.S. 639 (2002)
• Witters v. Washington Department of Services for the Blind · 474 U.S. 481 (1986)
• Zobrest v. Catalina Foothills School District · 509 U.S. 1 (1993)
• Rosenberger v. Rector & Visitors of University of Virginia · 515 U.S. 819 (1995)
• Texas Monthly, Inc. v. Bullock · 489 U.S. 1 (1989)
• School District of Grand Rapids v. Ball · 473 U.S. 373 (1985)
• Lynch v. Donnelly · 465 U.S. 668 (1984)
• County of Allegheny v. American Civil Liberties Union · 492 U.S. 573 (1989)
• Wallace v. Jaffree · 472 U.S. 38 (1985)
• Bowen v. Kendrick · 487 U.S. 589 (1988)
• Aguilar v. Felton · 473 U.S. 402 (1985)
• Santa Fe Independent School District v. Doe · 530 U.S. 290 (2000)
• Agostini v. Felton · 521 U.S. 203 (1997)
• Edwards v. Aguillard · 482 U.S. 578 (1987)
• Hibbs v. Winn · 542 U.S. 88 (2004)
• Capitol Square Review & Advisory Board v. Pinette · 515 U.S. 753 (1995)
• Corporation of the Presiding Bishop of Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints v. Amos · 483 U.S. 327 (1987)
• Grove City College v. Bell · 465 U.S. 555 (1984)
• 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)
• Board of Ed. of Kiryas Joel Village School Dist. v. Grumet · 512 U.S. 687 (1994)
• Van Orden v. Perry · 545 U.S. 677 (2005)
• Locke v. Davey · 540 U.S. 712 (2004)
• American Legion v. American Humanist Assn. · 588 U.S. 29 (2019)

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).