Church of the Lukumi Babalu Aye v. City of Hialeah

Church of the Lukumi Babalu Aye v. City of Hialeah
Argued November 4, 1992
Decided June 11, 1993
Full case nameChurch of the Lukumi Babalu Aye, Inc. and Ernesto Pichardo v. City of Hialeah
Citations508 U.S. 520 (more)
113 S. Ct. 2217; 124 L. Ed. 2d 472
Case history
PriorDismissing individuals, 688 F.Supp. 1522 (S.D. Fla. 1988).
Summary judgment for defendant, 723 F. Supp. 1467 (S.D. Fla. 1989).
Aff'd, 936 F.2d 586 (11th Cir. 1991).
Cert granted, 503 U.S. 935 (1992).
Holding
The states cannot restrict religiously-mandated ritual slaughter of animals, regardless of the purpose of the slaughter.
Court membership
Chief Justice
William Rehnquist
Associate Justices
Byron White · Harry Blackmun
John P. Stevens · Sandra Day O'Connor
Antonin Scalia · Anthony Kennedy
David Souter · Clarence Thomas
Case opinion
MajorityKennedy, joined by Rehnquist, Stevens, Scalia, and Thomas (parts I, II-A-1, II-A-3, II-B, III, IV); White (parts I, II-B, III, IV); Souter (parts I, III, IV).
PluralityKennedy (Part II-A-2), joined by Stevens
ConcurrenceScalia (in part and judgment), joined by Rehnquist
ConcurrenceSouter (in part and judgment)
ConcurrenceBlackmun (in judgment), joined by O'Connor
Laws applied
U.S. Const. amend. I
City of Hialeah Ordinances 87-52, 87-71, 87-72

Church of the Lukumi Babalu Aye, Inc. v. Hialeah, 508 U.S. 520 (1993), was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States held that an ordinance passed in Hialeah, Florida, forbidding the unnecessary killing of "an animal in a public or private ritual or ceremony not for the primary purpose of food consumption", was unconstitutional.