Wallace v. Jaffree

Wallace v. Jaffree, 472 U.S. 38 (1985), is a landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court.

Alabama law authorized a one-minute period of silence in public schools ‘for meditation or voluntary prayer.’ The previous version had only authorized a period of silence ‘for meditation.’ The addition of ‘or voluntary prayer’ was challenged as an unconstitutional establishment of religion.

Significance

Justice Stevens’ 6-3 opinion struck down the Alabama law because its sole purpose was to endorse religion. The Court applied the Lemon test’s first prong (secular purpose) and found that the legislative history explicitly showed the law was intended to return prayer to public schools. However, the Court distinguished laws providing for a ‘moment of silence’ without mentioning prayer, which could have a secular purpose. The decision affirmed that while genuine moments of silence may be constitutional, those enacted to promote prayer are not.

Category

US Federal Case Law