Agostini v. Felton
Agostini v. Felton, 521 U.S. 203 (1997), is a landmark decision of the Supreme Court of the United States. In this case, the Court overruled its decision in Aguilar v. Felton (1985), now finding that it was not a violation of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment for a state-sponsored education initiative to allow public school teachers to instruct at religious schools, so long as the material was secular and neutral in nature and no "excessive entanglement" between government and religion was apparent. This case is noteworthy in a broader sense as a sign of evolving judicial standards surrounding the First Amendment, and the changes that have occurred in modern Establishment Clause jurisprudence.
| Agostini v. Felton | |
|---|---|
Supreme Court of the United States | |
| Argued April 15, 1997 Decided June 23, 1997 | |
| Full case name | Rachel Agostini et al. v. Betty Louise Felton et al. |
| Citations | 521 U.S. 203 (more) 117 S. Ct. 1997; 138 L. Ed. 2d 391 |
| Case history | |
| Prior | Felton v. Sec'y, U.S. Dep't of Educ., 101 F.3d 1394 (2d Cir. 1996); cert. granted, 519 U.S. 1086 (1997). |
| Holding | |
| Reverses Aguilar v. Felton in allowing public school teachers to instruct at religious schools, so long as the material was secular and neutral in nature and no "excessive entanglement" between government and religion was apparent. | |
| Court membership | |
| |
| Case opinions | |
| Majority | O'Connor, joined by Rehnquist, Scalia, Kennedy, Thomas |
| Dissent | Souter, joined by Stevens, Ginsburg; Breyer (Part II) |
| Dissent | Ginsburg, joined by Stevens, Souter, Breyer |
| Laws applied | |
| Establishment Clause of the U.S. Const. amend. I | |
This case overturned a previous ruling or rulings | |
| School Dist. of Grand Rapids v. Ball (1985) (in part) Aguilar v. Felton (1985) | |
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