Opinion

Perry v. School District No. 81

  • 54 Wash. 2d 886
  • 344 P.2d 1036
  • 1959 Wash. LEXIS 473
Court
Washington Supreme Court
Filed
Oct 8, 1959
Status
Published
Author
Weaver
On the bench
Hunter, Weaver
Cited by
16 cases

following Illinois ex rel. McCollum *384 V. Board of Educ., 333 U.S. 203, 92 L. Ed. 649, 68 S. Ct. 461 (1948) and Zorach v. Clauson, 343 U.S. 306, 96 L. Ed. 954, 72 S. Ct. 679 (1952)

How later courts described this case

  • following Illinois ex rel. McCollum *384 V. Board of Educ., 333 U.S. 203, 92 L. Ed. 649, 68 S. Ct. 461 (1948) and Zorach v. Clauson, 343 U.S. 306, 96 L. Ed. 954, 72 S. Ct. 679 (1952)
  • following Illinois ex rel. McCollum v. Board of Educ., 333 U.S. 203, 92 L.Ed. 649, 68 S.Ct. 461 (1948) and Zorach v. Clauson, 343 U.S. 306, 96 L.Ed. 954, 72 S.Ct. 679 (1952)
  • examining both article I, section 11, and article 9, section 4
  • use of public school facilities to promote attendance at religious education program unconstitutional

Written by the judges who cited it.

The opinion

Weaver, C. J.

(concurring) — I have signed the foregoing opinion. I wish to point out, however, that Art. IX, § 4, of the Washington constitution, which provides

“Sectarian Control or Influence Prohibited. All schools maintained or supported wholly or in part by the public funds shall be forever free from sectarian control or influence.”,

is more proscriptive than the other constitutional provisions discussed in the opinion.

That it is so is the result of deliberate action by the constitutional convention of 1899. It appears from the journal of the Washington State Constitutional Convention, 1889, p. 335 (unpublished; the original is in the office of the Secretary of State), that J. Z. Moore, a member of the convention and a lawyer from Spokane, moved to strike the words “or influence” from the section. The motion lost 39 to 11.

December 16, 1959. Petition for rehearing denied.

This is a copy of a public record, reproduced as it was published. It is not legal advice, and it may not be the version a court would rely on. Check the official source before you cite it.

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