Lee v. weisman (1992)

Lee v. Weisman, 505 U.S. 577 (1992) is a U.S. Supreme Court case about prayer and the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. The Supreme Court in a 5-4 decision written by Justice Kennedy, affirmed the decision of the First Circuit, holding that a Providence, Rhode Island public school including a prayer from clergy in graduation ceremonies was unconstitutional as a violation of the Establishment Clause.

The case arose when Petitioner Robert Lee, the Principal of a Providence middle school, invited a Rabbi to deliver a prayer at graduation. Respondent Daniel Weisman, whose daughter was graduating, sought a permanent injunction to bar the school from including these prayers in the ceremony. The District Court granted the injunction, holding that the school violated the Establishment Clause test from Lemon v. Kurtzman. Specifically, this case dealt with the second of three prongs of the Lemon test, which requires that a state’s religious practice “have a primary effect that neither advances nor inhibits religion.”

The Court held the state unconstitutionally advanced religion because the school was public, and students were coerced to participate in the prayer. Because the school was public, the ceremony was considered a state-sponsored event, and the principal was acting as a state representative when he invited the Rabbi and dictated the content of the prayer. Further, the state coerced participation in the prayer, as the student attendance was obligatory, and they were required to stand in silence for the prayer. The Court believed students were coerced because even standing in silence during the prayer is sufficient for participation. Moreover, because of the great social pressure on teenage students to fit in with their peers, those who felt uncomfortable did not have a legitimate choice to not participate. Additionally, although the school did not technically require students to attend graduation, the importance and pressure on students to attend, made it effectively obligatory.