Rosenberger v. University of Virginia, 515 U.S. 810; 115 S. Ct. 2510; 132 L. Ed. 2d 700 (1995) Facts—While providing funding through student activity fees for a variety of student groups, the University of Virginia denied such funding to Wide…
Church of Lukumi Babalu Aye v. City of Hialeah, 508 U.S. 520; 113 S. Ct. 2217; 124 L. Ed. 2d 472 (1993) Facts—The Santeria religion, a fusion of Roman Catholicism and native African religion chiefly developed in the Caribbean, practices…
Employment Division, Department of Human Resources of Oregon v. Smith, 494 U.S. 872; 110 S. Ct. 1595; 108 L. Ed. 2d 876 (1990) Facts—Two drug rehabilitation counselors were fired from their jobs for ingesting peyote as part of the rituals…
Goldman v. Weinberger, 475 U.S. 503; 106 S. Ct. 1310; 89 L. Ed. 2d 478 (1986) Facts—The petitioner was an ordained Orthodox Jew and a commissioned officer in the U.S. Air Force. In uniform and on duty but in violation…
United States v. Lee, 455 U.S. 252; 102 S. Ct. 1051; 71 L. Ed. 2d 127 (1982) Facts—Lee, a member of the Old Order Amish, is a farmer and carpenter who, between 1970 and 1977, employed other Amish. He paid…
Welsh v. United States, 398 U.S. 333; 90 S. Ct. 1792; 26 L. Ed. 2d 308 (1970) Facts—Welsh was convicted in federal court for refusing to submit to induction into the armed forces, after his application for conscientious objector classification…
Marsh v. Alabama, 326 U.S. 501; 66 S. Ct. 276; 90 L. Ed. 265 (1946) Facts—Grace Marsh, a Jehovah’s Witness, was distributing religious literature on the street of a privately owned town named Chickasaw that was owned by the Gulf…
Murdock v. Pennsylvania, 319 U.S. 105; 63 S. Ct. 870; 87 L. Ed. 1292 (1943) Facts—The city of Jeannette, Pennsylvania, had an ordinance requiring all solicitors to get a license from the treasurer of the borough. The petitioners were Jehovah’s…
Cantwell v. Connecticut, 310 U.S. 296; 60 S. Ct. 900; 84 L. Ed. 1213 (1940) Facts—Newton Cantwell and other Jehovah’s Witnesses went from house to house in New Haven, Connecticut, selling books. They were equipped with a record player that…
Reynolds v. United States, 98 U.S. 145; 25 L. Ed. 244; 1848 U.S. LEXIS 1374 (1879) Facts—George Reynolds was convicted in a District Court in the territory of Utah for bigamy. In addition to claiming that a number of procedural…