Westside Community Board of Education v. Mergens

Westside Community Board of Education v. Mergens
Argued January 9, 1990
Decided June 4, 1990
Full case nameBoard of Education of the Westside Community Schools, etc., et al., Petitioners v. Bridget C. Mergens, by and through her next friend, Daniel N. Mergens, et al.
Citations496 U.S. 226 (more)
110 S. Ct. 2356; 110 L. Ed. 2d 191; 1990 U.S. LEXIS 2880; 58 U.S.L.W. 4720
ArgumentOral argument
Case history
Prior867 F.2d 1076 (8th Cir. 1989); cert. granted, 492 U.S. 917 (1989).
Holding
School districts may not prohibit Bible study groups from meeting on school premises if they allow other groups to meet on school premises.
Court membership
Chief Justice
William Rehnquist
Associate Justices
William J. Brennan Jr. · Byron White
Thurgood Marshall · Harry Blackmun
John P. Stevens · Sandra Day O'Connor
Antonin Scalia · Anthony Kennedy
Case opinions
MajorityO'Connor (parts I, II-A, II-B, II-C), joined by Rehnquist, White, Blackmun, Scalia, Kennedy
PluralityO'Connor (part III), joined by Rehnquist, White, Blackmun
ConcurrenceKennedy (in part and in judgement), joined by Scalia
ConcurrenceMarshall (in judgement), joined by Brennan
DissentStevens
Laws applied
U.S. Const. amend. I; Equal Access Act

Westside Community Board of Education v. Mergens, 496 U.S. 226 (1990), was a United States Supreme Court case involving a school district's ability to hold classes on Bible study after school.