Wallace, Governor of Alabama, et al. v. Jaffree et al.

Decided June 4, 1985. John Paul Stevens delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 83-812 · 472 U.S. 38 (1985) · Cited 898 times

Holding

Section 16-1-20.1 is a law respecting the establishment of religion and thus violates the First Amendment.

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)
• Everson v. Board of Ed. of Ewing · 330 U.S. 1 (1947)
• Lynch v. Donnelly · 465 U.S. 668 (1984)
• Engel v. Vitale · 370 U.S. 421 (1962)
• Walz v. Tax Comm'n of City of New York · 397 U.S. 664 (1970)
• West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette · 319 U.S. 624 (1943)
• Wolman v. Walter · 433 U.S. 229 (1977)
• Marsh v. Chambers · 463 U.S. 783 (1983)
• Committee for Public Education & Religious Liberty v. Nyquist · 413 U.S. 756 (1973)
• Tilton v. Richardson · 403 U.S. 672 (1971)
• Meek v. Pittenger · 421 U.S. 349 (1975)
• Cantwell v. Connecticut · 310 U.S. 296 (1940)
• Board of Ed. of Central School Dist. No. 1 v. Allen · 392 U.S. 236 (1968)
• Illinois Ex Rel. McCollum v. Board of Ed. of School Dist. No. 71, Champaign Cty. · 333 U.S. 203 (1948)
• Mueller v. Allen · 463 U.S. 388 (1983)
• Committee for Public Education & Religious Liberty v. Regan · 444 U.S. 646 (1980)
• Reynolds v. United States · 98 U.S. 145 (1879)
• Zorach v. Clauson · 343 U.S. 306 (1952)
• Widmar v. Vincent · 454 U.S. 263 (1981)
• Larson v. Valente · 456 U.S. 228 (1982)
• Stone v. Graham · 449 U.S. 39 (1980)
• McGowan v. Maryland · 366 U.S. 420 (1961)
• Thomas v. Review Board of the Indiana Employment Security Division · 450 U.S. 707 (1981)
• Wooley v. Maynard · 430 U.S. 705 (1977)
• Epperson v. Arkansas · 393 U.S. 97 (1968)
• Hutto v. Davis · 454 U.S. 370 (1982)
• Roemer v. Board of Public Works of Md. · 426 U.S. 736 (1976)
• Hunt v. McNair · 413 U.S. 734 (1973)
• Levitt v. Committee for Public Education & Religious Liberty · 413 U.S. 472 (1973)
• Valley Forge Christian College v. Americans United for Separation of Church and State, Inc. · 454 U.S. 464 (1982)

Cited by

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

• Edwards v. Aguillard · 482 U.S. 578 (1987)
• McCreary County v. American Civil Liberties Union of Ky. · 545 U.S. 844 (2005)
• County of Allegheny v. American Civil Liberties Union · 492 U.S. 573 (1989)
• Lee v. Weisman · 505 U.S. 577 (1992)
• Santa Fe Independent School District v. Doe · 530 U.S. 290 (2000)
• Van Orden v. Perry · 545 U.S. 677 (2005)
• Board of Ed. of Westside Community Schools (Dist. 66) v. Mergens · 496 U.S. 226 (1990)
• Texas Monthly, Inc. v. Bullock · 489 U.S. 1 (1989)
• Aguilar v. Felton · 473 U.S. 402 (1985)
• Corporation of the Presiding Bishop of Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints v. Amos · 483 U.S. 327 (1987)
• Capitol Square Review & Advisory Board v. Pinette · 515 U.S. 753 (1995)
• Board of Ed. of Kiryas Joel Village School Dist. v. Grumet · 512 U.S. 687 (1994)
• Trinity Lutheran Church of Columbia, Inc. v. Comer · 582 U.S. 449 (2017)
• Elk Grove Unified School District v. Newdow · 542 U.S. 1 (2004)
• Kennedy v. Bremerton School Dist. · 597 U.S. 507 (2022)
• Rosenberger v. Rector & Visitors of University of Virginia · 515 U.S. 819 (1995)
• Zelman v. Simmons-Harris · 536 U.S. 639 (2002)
• McDonald v. City of Chicago · 561 U.S. 742 (2010)
• Church of the Lukumi Babalu Aye, Inc. v. City of Hialeah · 508 U.S. 520 (1993)
• Cutter v. Wilkinson · 544 U.S. 709 (2005)
• Hernandez v. Commissioner · 490 U.S. 680 (1989)
• Lamb's Chapel v. Center Moriches Union Free School District · 508 U.S. 384 (1993)
• Webster v. Reproductive Health Services · 492 U.S. 490 (1989)
• Goldman v. Weinberger · 475 U.S. 503 (1986)
• Witters v. Washington Department of Services for the Blind · 474 U.S. 481 (1986)
• American Legion v. American Humanist Assn. · 588 U.S. 29 (2019)
• City of Boerne v. Flores · 521 U.S. 507 (1997)
• Pleasant Grove City v. Summum · 555 U.S. 460 (2009)
• Bowen v. Kendrick · 487 U.S. 589 (1988)
• School District of Grand Rapids v. Ball · 473 U.S. 373 (1985)

Official text

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

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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1985). 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).