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Constitutional Law Keyed to Maggs
Lee v. Weisman
Citation:
505 U.S. 577 (1992)Facts
Deborah Weisman graduated from Nathan Bishop Middle School, a public school in Providence, at a formal ceremony in June 1989. She was about 14 years old. Many of the principals at the school had elected to include prayers as part of the graduation ceremonies. Acting for himself and his daughter, Deborah’s father, Daniel Weisman, objected to any prayers at Deborah’s middle school graduation, but to no avail. The school principal, petitioner Robert E. Lee, invited a rabbi to deliver prayers at the graduation exercises for Deborah’s class and Rabbi Leslie Gutterman accepted. Daniel stated that the school practice violates the First Amendment.
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Topic Resources
Topic Outline
First AmendmentTopic Refresher Course
Free Exercise ClauseTopic Charts & Notes
First Amendment Chart