Abington School District v. Schempp

The Background of Abington School District v. Schempp:


Abington School District v. Schempp was a landmark United States Supreme Court case that declared school-sponsored bible readings (in public schools) to be unconstitutional.

The case of Abington School District v. Schempp began when Edward Schempp filed a suit against the Abington School District in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania to prohibit the mandatory enforcement of a Pennsylvania state law that required public school children to hear and sometimes read portions of the bible as part of their daily education.


During the initial trial, which was heard in federal district court, the court ruled in Schempp’s favor and struck down the Pennsylvania law because it violated the First and Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The school district appealed the ruling and the legislature of the state amended the state law to allow children to be excused from the exercises upon the delivery of a written request.


Due to the change in the state’s law, the United States Supreme Court responded to the district’s appeal by vacating the first ruling and remanded the case back to the district courts. The district court, subsequent to this remanding, favored once again for Schempp. The School district then appealed again, and, on appeal, the case was agglomerated with a similar Maryland case initiated by Madalyn Murray.


After this consolidation, the Supreme Court of the United States decided in a unanimous 8-1 favor for Edward Schmepp. The United States Supreme Court declared that the enforcement of sanctioned and organized Bible readings in a public school system in the United States is unconstitutional.


The Case Profile of Abington School District v. Schempp:


The following is a case profile of the legal trial eponymously titled ‘Abington School District v. Schempp’:


Date of the Trial: Abington School District v. Schmepp was argued in the United States Supreme Court on February 27-28 of 1963.


Legal Classification: Administrative Law; this legal field associated with events and circumstances in which the Federal Government of the United States engages its citizens, including the administration of government programs, the creation of agencies, and the establishment of a legal, regulatory federal standard


United States Reports Case Number: 374 U.S. 203


Date of the Delivery of the Verdict: Abington School District v. Schempp was decided on June 17, 1963


Legal Venue of Abington School District v. Schempp: The United States Supreme Court


Judicial Officer Responsible for Ruling: Chief Justice Earl Warren


Verdict Delivered: The Supreme Court, in unanimous fashion, declared that organized and sanctioned Bible readings in public schools (in the United States) are unconstitutional.

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