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Constitutional Law Keyed to Choper
Stone v. Graham
Citation:
449 U.S. 39 (1980)Facts
In 1978, Kentucky enacted a statute requiring the posting of a copy of the Ten Commandments on the wall of each public elementary and secondary school classroom in the Commonwealth. The statute specified that the copies would be 16 inches wide by 20 inches high and purchased with voluntary private contributions collected by the state treasurer. Each display was required to include a small notation at the bottom stating: “The secular application of the Ten Commandments is clearly seen in its adoption as the fundamental legal code of Western Civilization and the Common Law of the United States.” The petitioners challenged this statute as a violation of the Establishment and Free Exercise Clauses of the First Amendment, seeking an injunction against its enforcement. The Kentucky trial court upheld the statute, finding it had a secular purpose and would neither advance nor inhibit religion. The Kentucky Supreme Court affirmed this decision by an equally divided vote.
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