Free Exercise
• 1st Amendment: "Congress shall make no law
respecting an establishment of religion, or
prohibiting the free exercise thereof."
• In other words, the USA cannot have an
official religion or prevent someone from
practicing their religion.
• The 14th Amendment also makes this clause
binding on the states.
Free Exercise (cont.)
• Beliefs do not necessarily need to be stated in
traditional terms; examples today include
Scientology, Neo-Pagan/New Age faiths, and
various others.
• Religion is broadly defined, primarily due to
the sheer number of faiths and denominations
and because of the way they change over
time.
Limits to Free Exercise
• Employers may not discriminate against other
religions
• Religious expression may not pose a threat or
infringe upon the rights of other citizens
– No polygamy, ritual sacrifice of humans, basically
any violence towards oneself or another for
religious purposes…
Jacobson v. Massachussetts
Background
• In 1902, there was an outbreak of smallpox in
Cambridge.
• In response, a MA statute allowed the city to
make vaccinations required for all adults to
prevent the spread of the disease.
• The fine for refusing the vaccine was $5
(worth about $100 dollars today)
Jacobson v. Massachusetts Background
• 1905- A citizen challenged the government’s
right to make vaccinations mandatory after a
smallpox outbreak in 1902.
• Jacobson claimed he’d had a bad reaction to
the vaccine and appealed to the Supreme
Court.
• Question: Does a mandatory vaccination law
violate the Fourteenth Amendment right to
liberty?
Decision
• The Supreme Court held that the law was an
exercise of the state’s right to protect its
citizens from a public health threat.
• Justice Harlan: “Liberty is not “an absolute
right in each person to be, in all times and in
all circumstances, wholly free from restraint.”
• However, the law does not apply to those who
can prove that their health/life will be
legitimately jeopardized by vaccination.
Consequences of the Decision
• The state may be justified in restricting
individual liberty “under the pressure of great
dangers” to “the safety of the general public.”
• Zucht v. King, 1922: The Supreme Court
upheld a city ordinance that required all
students to have a smallpox vaccination in
order to attend any public or private school.
Consequences of the Decision (cont.)
• Buck v Bell, 1927: The US Supreme Court
upheld a Virginia law that authorized the
involuntary sterilization of “feeble minded”
persons in state institutions.
– Jacobson v. Massachusetts was cited for this case
in order to support the idea that involuntary
sterilization of mentally unfit people is allowable
for the benefit of the public.
Consequences of the Decision (Cont.)
• Today, it is likely that laws requiring
vaccinations would be upheld if (1) the
infectious disease still existed in the
population and (2) the vaccine is safe and FDA
approved.
• In North Carolina, all students are required to
have vaccinations for tetanus, diptheria, and
pertussis (TDAP), polio, measles, etc.
Wisconsin v. Yoder Background
• A Wisconsin law required all children under 16
to attend public school. Most Amish groups
discontinue formal education by age 13 or 14.
• American public high schools strive to teach a
certain level of accomplishment and selfdetermination that contrasts with Amish
values, which stress humility and manual
labor.
Wisconsin v. Yoder Background, Cont.
• Three Amish families challenged the law by
claiming it violated their freedom of religion.
• For refusing to obey the law, the families were
each fined $5.
• The Amish tend to “turn the other cheek” and
the families paid the fine, but a Lutheran
minister who heard of their struggle provided
them with legal counsel and the case went to
the Supreme Court.
Decision
• The Wisconsin Supreme Court and the United
States Supreme Court both voted in favor of
Yoder.
• The Court ruled that the law violated the families’
right to free exercise.
• Chief Justice Warren E. Burger: the values of
secondary school were "in sharp conflict with the
fundamental mode of life mandated by the Amish
religion."
• The vote was unanimous (7-0) (Both Rehnquist
and Powell were absent).
Consequences of the Decision
• Amish communities are generally exempt
from compulsory education laws on religious
grounds.
• The case seems to have had little effect on
anyone besides the Amish; most other
religious groups are not exempt from
compulsory education. Groups/parents in
other states have tried but few have
succeeded.
Consequences of the Decision
• Amish children, upon turning 16, go through a
Rumspringa (run around) in which they are
allowed to experience life outside their
community in the modern world to determine
where they want to spend the rest of their
lives.
• However, because of their lack of high school
education, their options are strictly limited to
those within their communities.
Sources
•
Adler, Adam. “Wisconsin v. Yoder: Maximizing Religious Choice.” Stanford University. 2008. Web.
19 Mar. 2013.
•
http://www.stanford.edu/dept/undergrad/cgibin/drupal_ual/sites/default/files/common/docs/ih
um_fall08_winner.pdf
•
Annas, George J.; Glantz, Leonard H.; Mariner, Wendy K. “Jacobson v Massachusetts: It’s Not Your
Great-Great-Grandfather’s Public Health Law.” American Journal of Public Health. Apr. 2005. Web. 18
Mar 2013. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1449224/
•
"First Amendment (United States Constitution) : Related Rights." Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 17 Mar. 2013.
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/208044/First-Amendment
•
JACOBSON v. MASSACHUSETTS. The Oyez Project at IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law. 14 Mar. 2013.
Web. 18 Mar. 2013. <http://www.oyez.org/cases/1901-1939/1904/1904_70>.
•
Mullally, Claire. "Free Exercise Clause Overview." First Amendment Center. First Amendment
Center, 16 Sept. 2011. Web. 21 Mar. 2013. <http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/free-exerciseclause>.
•
WISCONSIN v. YODER. The Oyez Project at IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law. 14 Mar. 2013. Web. 19
Mar. 2013. http://www.oyez.org/cases/1970-1979/1971/1971_70_110