Zorach v. Clauson
Encyclopedia
Zorach v. Clauson, 343 U.S. 306
(1952), was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States
considered a New York law that permitted schools to allow some students to leave school during school hours for purposes of religious instruction or practice while requiring others to stay in school. The students were only allowed to leave on written request of their guardians, and religious organizations shared their attendance records with the schools. The schools did not fund or otherwise assist in the development of these programs. The Supreme Court upheld the law, finding that it did not violate the First Amendment
. Three of the nine Justices dissented from the decision; Hugo Black
, Felix Frankfurter
and Robert H. Jackson
would have found the law unconstitutional. All three cited McCollum v. Board of Education
(1948); they believed that the Court did not adequately distinguish between the circumstances in McCollum and the ones in Zorach.
Case citation
Case citation is the system used in many countries to identify the decisions in past court cases, either in special series of books called reporters or law reports, or in a 'neutral' form which will identify a decision wherever it was reported...
(1952), was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
considered a New York law that permitted schools to allow some students to leave school during school hours for purposes of religious instruction or practice while requiring others to stay in school. The students were only allowed to leave on written request of their guardians, and religious organizations shared their attendance records with the schools. The schools did not fund or otherwise assist in the development of these programs. The Supreme Court upheld the law, finding that it did not violate the First Amendment
First Amendment to the United States Constitution
The First Amendment to the United States Constitution is part of the Bill of Rights. The amendment prohibits the making of any law respecting an establishment of religion, impeding the free exercise of religion, abridging the freedom of speech, infringing on the freedom of the press, interfering...
. Three of the nine Justices dissented from the decision; Hugo Black
Hugo Black
Hugo Lafayette Black was an American politician and jurist. A member of the Democratic Party, Black represented Alabama in the United States Senate from 1927 to 1937, and served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1937 to 1971. Black was nominated to the Supreme...
, Felix Frankfurter
Felix Frankfurter
Felix Frankfurter was an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court.-Early life:Frankfurter was born into a Jewish family on November 15, 1882, in Vienna, Austria, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in Europe. He was the third of six children of Leopold and Emma Frankfurter...
and Robert H. Jackson
Robert H. Jackson
Robert Houghwout Jackson was United States Attorney General and an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court . He was also the chief United States prosecutor at the Nuremberg Trials...
would have found the law unconstitutional. All three cited McCollum v. Board of Education
McCollum v. Board of Education
McCollum v. Board of Education, 333 U.S. 203 , was a landmark 1948 United States Supreme Court case related to the power of a state to use its tax-supported public school system in aid of religious instruction...
(1948); they believed that the Court did not adequately distinguish between the circumstances in McCollum and the ones in Zorach.