The Case Of Wallace Vs. Jaffree
Wallace vs Jaffree was a United States Supreme Court case on June 4, 1985 that ruled 6-3 that an Alabama statute that authorized a one minute period of silence in all public schools violated the First Amendment. This ruling caused many people were angry with the way the schools handled the complaint.
The complaint was filed in May 1982 by Ishmael Jaffree, but did not initially mention any statute. Before filing the case, he talked to one of the children's teachers about stopping the prayer, She said that the prayer would be continues but participation was not required. He searched for a declaratory judgement and an injunction restraining the defendants from “maintaining or allowing the practice of regular religious prayer service or other …show more content…
The statute was amended in 1981 to allow mediation or voluntary prayer during the moment of silence. Many people believed that it was amended to try to bring back prayer in public schools. In 1982 Fob James, the Governor of Alabama who believed in school prayer, called a special legislative session because he wanted approval for a mandate stating that teachers were allowed to willingly lead prayers in the classroom. This led to another law that authorized the teacher to lead “willing students” in prayer. The school in Mobile County, Alabama allowed teachers to lead prayer in their …show more content…
Supreme Court to review the ruling of the court. In 1984 the court made up their mind about the ruling in 1981, now they had to decide if the ruling in 1982 was constitutional. Jaffree argued that the ruling in 1982 was not constitutional, he argued that previous school prayer cases invalidated his case. The court ruled that the ruling in 1982 did not “in any way offend the Constitution”. The court said it “neither proscribes prayer; nor affirms religious belief; nor coerces religious exercise.” The Reagan administration agreed with the courts on the decision. It was said that these laws were “perfectly neutral with respect for other religious practices. It neither favors one religion over another nor conveys endorsement of
The complaint was filed in May 1982 by Ishmael Jaffree, but did not initially mention any statute. Before filing the case, he talked to one of the children's teachers about stopping the prayer, She said that the prayer would be continues but participation was not required. He searched for a declaratory judgement and an injunction restraining the defendants from “maintaining or allowing the practice of regular religious prayer service or other …show more content…
The statute was amended in 1981 to allow mediation or voluntary prayer during the moment of silence. Many people believed that it was amended to try to bring back prayer in public schools. In 1982 Fob James, the Governor of Alabama who believed in school prayer, called a special legislative session because he wanted approval for a mandate stating that teachers were allowed to willingly lead prayers in the classroom. This led to another law that authorized the teacher to lead “willing students” in prayer. The school in Mobile County, Alabama allowed teachers to lead prayer in their …show more content…
Supreme Court to review the ruling of the court. In 1984 the court made up their mind about the ruling in 1981, now they had to decide if the ruling in 1982 was constitutional. Jaffree argued that the ruling in 1982 was not constitutional, he argued that previous school prayer cases invalidated his case. The court ruled that the ruling in 1982 did not “in any way offend the Constitution”. The court said it “neither proscribes prayer; nor affirms religious belief; nor coerces religious exercise.” The Reagan administration agreed with the courts on the decision. It was said that these laws were “perfectly neutral with respect for other religious practices. It neither favors one religion over another nor conveys endorsement of