Wednesday, September 04, 2024

Town of Greece: Three Points

 1. Here is what the Court says in Town of Greece to make clear that not only is Marsh still good law, it should not be viewed as some kind of a "legislative prayer" exception to the Establishment Clause:

"Any test the Court adopts must acknowledge a practice that was accepted by the Framers and has withstood the critical scrutiny of time and political change." p.1793

2. The holding: "The Town of Greece does not violate the First Amendment by opening its meetings with prayer that comports with our tradition and does not coerce participation by nonadherents." P. 1796

3.Justice Thomas concurrence: "As i have explained before, the text and history of the [Establishment] Clause 'resists incorporation' against the States....If the Establishment Clause is not incorporated, then it has no application here, where only municipal action is at issue."

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