Locke v. Davey

SCOTUSCase
Litigants=Locke v. Davey
ArgueDate=December 2
ArgueYear=2003
DecideDate=February 25
DecideYear=2004
FullName=Gary Locke, Governor of Washington, et al., Petitioners v. Joshua Davey
USVol=540
USPage=712
Citation=124 S. Ct. 1307; 158 L. Ed. 2d 1; 2004 U.S. LEXIS 1626; 72 U.S.L.W. 4206; 17 Fla. L. Weekly Fed. S 163
Prior=On writ of cert. to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Davey v. Locke, 299 F.3d 748, 2002 U.S. App. LEXIS 14461 (9th Cir. Wash., 2002)
Subsequent=
Holding=The Court upheld the constitutionality of a Washington publicly funded scholarship program which excluded students pursuing a "degree in theology."
SCOTUS=1994-2005
Majority=Rehnquist
JoinMajority=Stevens, O'Connor, Kennedy, Souter, Ginsburg, Breyer
Dissent=Scalia
JoinDissent=Thomas
Dissent2=Thomas
LawsApplied=U.S. Const. amend. I

"Locke v. Davey", ussc|540|712|2004, is a United States Supreme Court decision upholding the constitutionality of a Washington publicly funded scholarship program which excluded students pursuing a "degree in theology." This case examined the "room.. between the two Religion Clauses", the Free Exercise Clause and the Establishment Clause.

Chief Justice William Rehnquist wrote the opinion with Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas dissenting.

Holding

The statute was upheld. The Court held that there was nothing "inherently constitutionally suspect" in the denial of funding for vocational religious instruction. Even if there were, Washington had a "substantial state interest" in not funding "devotional degrees."

Background

The scholarship

In 1999, the state of Washington legislature created a scholarship, the Promise Scholarship. The scholarships were for roughly $1,250 and were funded through the State's general fund. The scholarship was available for qualified students who enrolled for "at least half time in an eligible postsecondary institution in the state of Washington", but who is not pursuing a degree in theology. Note that the Washington State Constitution specifically states that "No public money or property shall be appropriated for or applied to any religious worship, exercise or instruction". (Article I, Section 11) [http://www.courts.wa.gov/education/constitution/index.cfm?fa=education_constitution.display&displayid=Article-01]

The scholarship was available to any graduate of a Washington public or private high school. The student must be in the top 15%, receive a score of 1,200 or higher on the SAT, or score higher than a 27 on the American College Test. In addition, the student's family's income must be less than 135% of the median.

After the decision

Joshua Davey, the student who lost this case, enrolled in Harvard Law School in 2003, shortly before the case was argued before the Supreme Court. [http://www.aclj.org/Cases/Resources/Document.aspx?ID=1067] [http://www.lettersfrombabylon.com/about.html] He graduated in 2006, having served as a managing editor for the "Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy" in his final year. [http://www.law.harvard.edu/students/orgs/jlpp/masthead2.htm]

=See also=
* List of United States Supreme Court cases, volume 540