Legal Opinion
Employment Division, Department of Human Resources v. Smith
Supreme Court of the United States
Decided April 27, 1988No. 86-946PublishedCited by 60 opinions
1Opinion of the CourtJustice Stevens
Respondents are drug and alcohol abuse rehabilitation counselors who were discharged after they ingested peyote, a hallucinogenic drug, during a religious ceremony of the Native American Church. Both applied for and were denied unemployment compensation by petitioner Employment Division. The Oregon Supreme Court held that this denial, al*662though proper as a matter of Oregon law, violated the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment to the Federal Constitution.1 In reaching that conclusion the state court attached no significance to the fact that the possession of peyote is a felony under…
2Cases cited24 opinions
- Cantwell v. ConnecticutSupreme Court of the United States · 1940
- Ashwander v. Tennessee Valley AuthoritySupreme Court of the United States · 1936
- Wisconsin v. YoderSupreme Court of the United States · 1972
- Sherbert v. VernerSupreme Court of the United States · 1963
- Prince v. MassachusettsSupreme Court of the United States · 1944
19 more not listed; retrieve them via the Exa API.
3Cited by60 opinions
- Employment Div., Dept. of Human Resources of Ore. v. SmithSupreme Court of the United States · 1990
- Howlett Ex Rel. Howlett v. RoseSupreme Court of the United States · 1990
- Fulton v. PhiladelphiaSupreme Court of the United States · 2021
- First Covenant Church of Seattle v. City of SeattleWashington Supreme Court · 1992
- Robin Joy Shahar v. Michael J. Bowers, Individually and in His Official Capacity as Attorney General of the State of GeorgiaCourt of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit · 1997
55 more not listed; retrieve them via the Exa API.