Washington – Oklahoma will not be able to launch the first religious religious school ever yet supreme court On Thursday, 4-4 fled in a major case about the separation of the church and the state.
The equally divided court decision means that the Supreme Court in Oklahoma said that the proposal to launch Saint Issidor from Seville Catholic Catholic School violates both the Federal Constitution and the Law of the State.
Due to the lack of a majority, the court did not issue a written decision, and the case did not specify any precedent at the country level in the controversial legal question about whether religious schools should be able to participate in the state -funded state school programs.
One of the main factors in the result was that conservative judge Amy Kony Barrett, who would have been a decisive vote, did not participate in the case. She did not explain the reason, but it is likely that it is because of its relationships with the Law College in Notre Dame. The Religious Freedom Clinic at the Faculty of Law is the school.
One page decision did not mention how every fairness voted. during Oral arguments Last month, most court governors pointed to the school’s support, while the liberals expressed concern. It is likely that at least one governor has stood with the liberals, probably the chief of judges John Roberts.
The court is likely to be asked to inspect this case on future cases.
St. Esidor was working on the Internet online with a re -assignment to enhance the Catholic faith.
Case Righteousness to tensions Within the first amendment to the constitution; The facility’s item, which is the establishment clause, prohibits the state’s support for religion or its preference over one religion over another person, while the condition of free exercise prohibits religious discrimination.
The Supreme Court in Oklahoma cited the state’s interest in getting rid of violations of the Foundation’s condition as a reason for not allowing the proposal submitted by the Oaklahoma City diocese and the Toulsa diocese to move forward.
The State Council approved Saint Issidor’s proposal in June 2023, despite concerns about its religious nature, prompting the Atwahoma -Gentiner Dramond Prosecutor to file a lawsuit.
The Dramund case saw on the other side of his Republican colleagues in the state who supported the idea, but it prevailed in the Supreme Court in Oklahoma the following year.
The Supreme Court, when Barrett participates, has a majority 6-3 province that often supports religious rights. In recent years, it has repeatedly strengthened the condition of free exercise in cases provided by conservative religious freedom activists, and sometimes at the expense of the foundation clause. Some conservatives have long complained that the common understanding that the founding condition requires a strict chapter of the church and the state is incorrect.
Lawyers who represent the school and the Oklahoma School Council sought the state at the state level to depict the dispute as similar to a series of recent rulings that the court said that under the condition of free exercise, the states cannot prevent religious groups from government programs open to all.
Schools rented from religious rented schools are compatible with the school selection movement, which supports parents using taxpayer money to send their children to the private school. Public school advocates see both efforts as extensive attacks on traditional public schools.
