Minersville School District v. Gobitis

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Minersville School District v. Gobitis (1940)

Syllabus

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Minersville School District v. Gobitis, 310 U.S. 586 (1940), was a decision by the Supreme Court of the United States involving the religious rights of public school students under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. The Court ruled that public schools could compel students—in this case, Jehovah's Witnesses—to salute the American Flag and recite the Pledge of Allegiance despite the students' religious objections to these practices. This decision led to increased persecution of Witnesses in the United States. The Supreme Court overruled this decision a mere three years later, in West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette, 319 U.S. 624 (1943).

893384Minersville School District v. Gobitis — Syllabus1940

Court Documents

Opinion of the Court

United States Supreme Court

Minersville School District v. Gobitis

Certiorari to the Circuit Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit

No. 690 Argued: April 25, 1940 --- Decided: June 3, 1940

Mr. Joseph W. Henderson, of Philadelphia, Pa., for petitioners.

[Argument of Counsel from page 587 intentionally omitted]

Messrs. George K. Gardner, of Boston, Mass., and Joseph F. Rutherford, of Brooklyn, N.Y., for respondents.

[Argument of Counsel from pages 588-590 intentionally omitted]

This work is in the public domain in the United States because it is a work of the United States federal government (see 17 U.S.C. 105).

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