Public school districts across the country face an October 1 deadline to certify they do not prevent constitutionally protected prayer — or else they could lose federal funding. The certification is an annual exercise,...more
Kennedy v. Bremerton School District, 597 U.S. __ (2022) (The United States Supreme Court concludes that a coach praying at mid-field following a high school football game was engaged in private religious expression...more
Many employers looked to the Supreme Court last term for clarity in cases with a significant impact on the workplace. The justices continued to shape the employment law landscape by ruling on an array of issues involving...more
The Supreme Court ruled in Kennedy v. Bremerton School District on June 27, 2022 that a public high school violated the Constitution by restricting a football coach from engaging in “personal” but overt post-game, mid-field...more
The Supreme Court addressed the intersection of the First Amendment’s Establishment and Free Speech clauses as they relate to a public employee’s personal religious expression when done in the public eye. In a 6-to-3...more
Joseph Kennedy coached football at Bremerton High School, a public school in Washington State. After football games, Kennedy led prayers at the 50-yard line among players, coaches, fans, and, sometimes, politicians. The...more
On Monday June 27, the Supreme Court issued their ruling in the case Kennedy v. Bremerton School District. (We previously reported on this case.) In a 6-3 decision penned by Justice Neil Gorsuch, the conservative majority...more
The SCOTUS recently ruled in favor of a public high school football coach who lost his job after praying in front of students at the 50-yard line following the school’s football games. The Court held that the coach did not...more
The Supreme Court today held a public school football coach can openly pray on the football field and have students participate. Kennedy v. Bremerton School Dist., concerned an assistant football coach at a public high...more
On April 25, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the case Kennedy v. Bremerton School District, which we previously reported on. As you may recall, the case involves a high school football coach, Joseph Kennedy, who was...more
In 2019, we reported on the case of Kennedy v. Bremerton School District involving a football coach at Bremerton High School in Washington state who was placed on administrative leave by his public school district for praying...more
On January 14, 2022, the Supreme Court granted certiorari to determine whether a school district was within its rights in telling a coach not to continue to kneel and pray at the 50-yard line after his team’s games...more
The Supreme Court recently declined to hear a case involving a public school district that fired its football coach for kneeling and praying on the football field after games. ...more
As our firm reported earlier this year, the Supreme Court recently held that sectarian invocations at public meetings do not automatically violate the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which separates church and...more
Last month, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a New York town’s practice of opening town board meetings with prayer did not violate the First Amendment. The decision provides guidance to school boards and other public bodies...more
The 5-4 decision found that Town of Greece’s prayer practice is consistent with practices long permitted in American legislative assemblies. The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that it is constitutional for a town board...more
Today, the Court handed down its ruling in Town of Greece. In a sweeping ruling, the Court upheld the local government’s religious invocations in a 5-4 decision. The ruling pretty dramatically and explicitly broadens the...more
Cullen D. Seltzer, Esquire, litigator and colleague here at Sands Anderson PC, recently shared his report about a key legislative prayer case going to be decided by the United States Supreme Court. Given the number of...more