Zelman v. Simmons-Harris
| Zelman v. Simmons-Harris | |
|---|---|
| Argued February 20, 2002 Decided June 27, 2002 | |
| Full case name | Susan Tave Zelman, Superintendent of Public Instruction of Ohio, et al., Petitioners v. Doris Simmons-Harris, et al. |
| Docket no. | 00-1751 |
| Citations | 536 U.S. 639 (more) 122 S. Ct. 2460; 153 L. Ed. 2d 604; 2002 U.S. LEXIS 4885; 70 U.S.L.W. 4683; 2002 Cal. Daily Op. Service 5788; 2002 Daily Journal DAR 7295; 15 Fla. L. Weekly Fed. S 490 |
| Case history | |
| Prior | On writs of certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. Simmons-Harris v. Zelman, 234 F.3d 945, 2000 U.S. App. LEXIS 31367, 2000 Fed. App. 411P (6th Cir. 2000) |
| Holding | |
| The Ohio school voucher program does not violate the Establishment Clause even if the vouchers could be used for private, religious schools, because it passed a five-part test developed by the court in the case. | |
| Court membership | |
| |
| Case opinions | |
| Majority | Rehnquist, joined by O'Connor, Scalia, Kennedy, Thomas |
| Concurrence | O'Connor |
| Concurrence | Thomas |
| Dissent | Stevens |
| Dissent | Souter, joined by Stevens, Ginsburg, Breyer |
| Dissent | Breyer, joined by Stevens, Souter |
| Laws applied | |
| U.S. Const. amend. I | |
Zelman v. Simmons-Harris, 536 U.S. 639 (2002), was a 5–4 decision of the United States Supreme Court that upheld an Ohio program that used school vouchers. The Court decided that the program did not violate the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, as long as parents using the program were allowed to choose among a range of secular and religious schools.
The decision was said to be "the most important ruling on religion and the schools in the 40 years since the court declared organized prayer in the public schools to be unconstitutional" by Linda Greenhouse of the New York Times. Then-president George W. Bush said the case was "just as historic" as Brown v. Board of Education. The Wall Street Journal editorial page said, "The U.S. Supreme Court yesterday struck the great blow for equal public education since Brown v. Board of Education in 1954. In the process, it also stripped away the last Constitutional and moral fig leaf from those who want to keep minority kids trapped in failing public schools."
Moderate Justices Anthony Kennedy and Sandra Day O'Connor and conservative Justices William Rehnquist, Antonin Scalia, and Clarence Thomas combined to form the majority.