⚖️ Town of Greece v. Galloway

Monday, May 5, 2014 All day

A town council's practice of opening its sessions with a sectarian prayer does not violate the Establishment Clause. Decided May 5, 2014 (argued November 6, 2013). Opinion of the Court: Kennedy (all but Part II-B) Dissenting: Breyer, Kagan. Applied: the First Amendment → go there Topic: Freedom of religion. Town of Greece v. Galloway, 572 U.S. 565 (2014), is a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court decided that the Town of Greece, New York may permit volunteer chaplains to open each legislative session with a prayer. The plaintiffs were Susan Galloway and Linda Stephens, represented by Americans United for Separation of Church and State. They argued that the prayers violate the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled against the town, and on May 20, 2013 the Supreme Court agreed to rule on the issue. On May 5, 2014, the Supreme Court ruled 5–4 in favor of the Town of Greece, holding that the town's practice of beginning legislative sessions with prayer did not violate the Establishment Clause. Wiki link