This page contains Supreme Court rulings -- with summaries of the majority and minority conclusions.
Decided Feb 25, 2004
Case Ruling: Locke v. Davey
Voting 7-2, the court upholds the provisions of Washington state's Promise Scholarship program, which offers taxpayer-funded scholarships to low-income college students enrolled in secular studies. HELD: Delivered by Rehnquist, joined by Stevens, O'Connor, Kennedy, Souter, Ginsburg, BreyerThe justices rule in Locke v. Davey that states are not violating the First Amendment's guarantee of religious freedom if they choose not to subsidize students studying for the ministry. The decision upholds the constitutionality of the scholarship program which excluded students pursuing a "degree in theology." DISSENT: Dissent by Scalia, joined by Thomas
When the State withholds a benefit from some individuals solely on the basis of religion, it violates the Free Exercise Clause no less than if it had imposed a special tax. That is precisely what the State of Washington has done here. It has created a generally available public benefit, whose receipt is conditioned only on academic performance, income, and attendance at an accredited school. It has then carved out a solitary course of study for exclusion: theology.
Participating counts on VoteMatch question 4.
Question 4: Keep God in the public sphere
Scores: -2=Strongly oppose; -1=Oppose; 0=neutral; 1=Support; 2=Strongly support.
- Topic: Education
- Headline: Ok to deny scholarships to divinity students
(Score: -2)
- Headline 2: Unconstitutional to deny scholarships to divinity students
(Score: 2)
Participating counts on AmericansElect question 6.
- Headline: Ok to deny scholarships to divinity students
(Answer: C)
- Headline 2: Unconstitutional to deny scholarships to divinity students
(Answer: A)
- AmericansElect Quiz Question 6 on
Education:
When you think about education in the US, which of the following is closest to your opinion?
- A: School curriculums should be set entirely at a local school board level
- B: School curriculums should be set more by local school boards than at a national level
- C: School curriculums should be set more by national standards than at a local level
- D: School curriculums should be set entirely at a national standardized level
- E: Unsure
- Key for participation codes:
- Sponsorships: p=sponsored; o=co-sponsored; s=signed
- Memberships: c=chair; m=member; e=endorsed; f=profiled; s=scored
- Resolutions: i=introduced; w=wrote; a=adopted
- Cases: w=wrote; j=joined; d=dissented; c=concurred
- Surveys: '+' supports; '-' opposes.
Independents
participating in 04-LOCKE |
Total recorded by OnTheIssues:
Democrats:
2
Republicans:
7
Independents:
0 |
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