Mueller v. Allen (1982)
- Docket
- 82-195
- Decided
- 1982-01-01
Summary
Question: Did the law violate the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment? Conclusion: No. The Court held that the law did not have "the primary effect of advancing the sectarian aims of the non-public schools," nor did it "excessively entangle" the state in religion. Most importantly, argued Justice Rehnquist, the deductions were available to all parents; in effect, Minnesota did not "confer any imprimatur of state approval" on religious schools. Thus, the law passed the Court's three-pronged test announced in Lemon v. Kurtzman (1971) used to evaluate claims regarding the Establishment Clause.