TEMPLATE FOR CHURCH/STATE SCHOOL LAW CASE ANALYSES



TEMPLATE FOR CHURCH/STATE SCHOOL LAW CASE ANALYSES

|Identify the section of law in which the case falls by checking the box that applies to the case that is being analyzed. |

|Church/state |

|Establishment clause |

|Free exercise clause |

|Provide legal background on church-state law (you will be paraphrasing the lecture notes and reviewing the COMPLETE area of |

|church-state issues so make sure to include background on BOTH the establishment and free exercise clauses) and then explain WHY |

|this case falls under either the establishment clause or the free exercise clause, finally outlining the specific test or tests or |

|legal principle/s that should be applied in this scenario. |

| |

|Cases which fall under the first amendment which says: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or |

|prohibiting the free exercise thereof”  can fall under one of two clauses: |

|Establishment Clause: The government cannot promote or advance one religion over another. |

| |

|When cases dealing with the first amendment fall under the establishment clause there is a test called “the lemon test.” Te lemon |

|test gives three ideas to think about: |

|1. The government action must have a secular (non-religious) purpose. |

|2. The government action must have a primary effect that neither advances nor impedes religion. |

|3. The government action must avoid excessive governmental entanglement with religion.  |

| |

| |

|-Or- |

|Free Exercise Clause: The government cannot prevent or impede religious practices.  |

| |

|The case being examined is about a young man who refused to sign a consent form for random drug testing. As a result he was denied|

|a parking permit to park on campus. Since the school has allegedly impeded on the students religion by trying to subject him to |

|random drug tests. This case falls under the free exercise clause. In cases falling under the free exercise clause a test called|

|the “balancing test” must be given. This test is made of only two questions: |

| |

|Is the religious practice being inhibited actually dictated by a sincere and legitimate religious belief? |

|To what extent is the religious belief inhibited? |

| |

|Law suits are for religious exemptions are nothing new to the court systems. In fact, there have been several cases where students|

|or parents of students have asked for exemptions based on religious beliefs. To get a better understanding of some of these cases,|

|and to religious exemptions we can reference pages 56 and 57 of our text. |

|West Virginia State Board of Education vs. Barnett- In this case the government decided it unlawful for students to be required to|

|recite the Pledge of Allegiance every morning before school. Thus granting a religious exception. |

|“Religious exemptions have not been honored if considered unnecessary to accommodate the practice of religious tenants or if the |

|exemptions would substantially disrupt the school or students’ academic progress or pose a safety hazard.” (page 57) |

| |

| |

| |

|Lawyer for the parents on behalf of the child |

|Copy all parts or points of the test or tests (make sure to include each and every component) and generate the arguments that the |

|parents’ lawyer could make to win the case. |

| |

|Since this case falls under the free exercise clause it is imperative that the lawyers build their defense around the questions of |

|the balance test. |

| |

|Is the religious practice being inhibited actually dictated by a sincere and legitimate religious belief? |

|YES- The student in this case as well as his family are active members in the local Quaker religious community. As members of this|

|Quaker religion the student and his family live their lives truthfully and in accordance with all laws that apply to them. This |

|means that they are not using drugs or alcohol and the school district questioning them is impeding on their religion. |

|To what extent is the religious belief inhibited? |

|Like anyone with strong faith the Quaker people believe firmly that they need to live their lives in accordance with the rules set |

|forth by their leaders. The school district questioning this young man may cause him to change the way he feels about living the |

|Quaker lifestyle. |

|(Counter Points for these two arguments are found under the “Lawyer for the School” section) |

| |

| |

| |

| |

| |

| |

| |

| |

| |

| |

|Lawyer for the school |

|Copy all parts or points of the test or tests (make sure to include each and every component) and generate the arguments that the |

|school’s lawyer could make to win the case. |

| |

|Since this case falls under the free exercise clause it is imperative that the lawyers build their defense around the questions of |

|the balance test. |

| |

|Is the religious practice being inhibited actually dictated by a sincere and legitimate religious belief? |

|NO- All people in the United States of America are required to follow the laws that are set forth by society. Everyday people are|

|questioned as to whether or not they follow these laws and belonging to a religious community does not make you exempt from such |

|questioning. |

|To what extent is the religious belief inhibited? |

|We do not believe that the students beliefs are being inhibited in any way. If the student follows the laws set forth by society |

|and his Quaker religion then his tests will come back negative and no harm will be done. The school district giving random drug |

|tests has nothing to do with the students religious beliefs. |

| |

| |

| |

| |

| |

|Your overall assessment—Who has the stronger case? Justify your opinion always basing it on legal principles (so although it is |

|your assessment, it should have some grounding in the law). |

| |

|I feel that in this law suit the school district has a much better case according to the balance the test which must be used |

|considering that the case falls under the free exercise clause. Though the student may have sincere and legitimate religious |

|beliefs based on his religion I don’t feel that they matter in the case. |

| |

|All people need to follow laws set forth by society no matter what you religion is. People of religion break laws all of the time |

|because they are human and humans make mistake. There is no reason that people of the Quaker religion should be exempt from drug |

|testing. Finally I don’t’ feel that the student’s religious belief was inhibited in any way shape or form. Even though drugs go |

|against all of Christianity Christians are drug tested by employers and schools on a daily basis. I have never heard of people say|

|that this has impeded upon their religion. |

| |

|“Religious exemptions have not been honored if considered unnecessary to accommodate the practice of religious tenants or if the |

|exemptions would substantially disrupt the school or students’ academic progress or pose a safety hazard.” (page 57) Since drugs |

|and alcohol pose a safety issue for schools this would overturn any possible safety issue. |

|Religious exceptions such as the one for the Pledge of Allegiance are granted because they can impede students religious beliefs |

|this is not the case here. |

| |

| |

................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download