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Supreme Court — Part 16

130 pages · May 11, 2026 · Document date: Sep 3, 1957 · Broad topic: General · Topic: Supreme Court · 127 pages OCR'd
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must not search a person until probable cause for an arrest has been developed, our officers refrained from following chis protective course lest evidence discovered be rejected by the court in a subsequent prosecution. Probable cause came with the shooting of the officers and too late to avoid this terrible tragedy.” Vil. THE SCHOOL PRAYER CASE Or June 25, 1962 the Supreme Court decided a case entitled Engel vs. Vitale, generally known as the New York Prayer Case. This case originated in the Scate of New York from the Union Free School District #9 of New Hyde Park, New York. The school daily procedure was adopted on the recommendation of the State Board of Regents, a governmental agency created by the State Constitution to which the New York Legislature had granted broad supervisory, executive and legal power over the states public school system. The state officials composed the prayer which they recommended and published as part of their “Statement on moral and spiritual learning in the schools”, say- ing, “We believe that this statement will be subscribed to by all men and women of good will and have called upon all of them to aid in giving life to our program.” The prayer in question reads “Almighty God we acknowledge our dependence upon Thee and we beg Your blessing upon us, our parents, our teachers and our country.” Shortly after the practice of reciting the Regent’s Prayer was adopted by the School District the parents of ten pupils broughe this action in a New York Sate Court, insisting that the use of this official prayer in the public schools was contrary to the be- liefs, religion, or religious practices of both themselves and their children. Among other things these parents challenged the con- stitutionality of both the state law authorizing the School Dis- trict to recommend prayer in the School District and the School District regulation ordering the recitation of this particular prayer on the ground that these actions of official governmental! agencies violated chat part of the First Amendment of the Fed- eral Constitution which commands that “Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion.” The State Courts of New York upheld the Regents in the recitation of said prayer on the ground that the said prayer as a part of the daily procedure of the Public Schools did not compe? any pupil to join in the prayer over his or his parents’ objection. The opinion of the Supreme Court reversing the State Court was written by Justice Black. Ie decided that the Regents had violated the First Amendment to the Constitution in that it was making a “law respecting an establishment of religion”. In his 41
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