Edwards v. Aguillard

Even if I agreed with the questionable premise that legislation can be invalidated under the Establishment Clause on the basis of its motivation alone, without regard to its effects, I would still find no justification for today’s decision. The Louisiana legislators who passed the “Balanced Treatment for Creation-Science and Evolution-Science Act” (Balanced Treatment Act), La. Rev. Stat. Ann. §§17:286.1-17:286.7 (West 1982), each of whom had sworn to support the Constitution,1 were well aware of the potential Establishment Clause problems and considered that aspect of the legislation with…