Term: 2021
Docket: 21-418
Kennedy v. Bremerton School District
- Pro
21-418 KENNEDY V. BREMERTON SCHOOL DISTRICT DECISION BELOW: 991 F.3d 1004 CERT. GRANTED 1/14/2022 QUESTION PRESENTED: Petitioner Joseph Kennedy lost his job as a football coach at a public high school because he knelt and said a quiet prayer by himself at midfield after the game ended. After considering an interlocutory petition in which Kennedy sought review of the lower courts' refusal to grant him a preliminary injunction, four members of this Court observed that "the Ninth Circuit's understanding of the free speech rights of public school teachers is troubling and may justify review in the future," but concluded that this Court should stay its hand until the lower courts definitively determined the reason for Kennedy's termination. The statement also noted that Kennedy had a then unaddressed claim under the Free Exercise Clause. On remand, the lower courts found-and the school district ultimately agreed-that Kennedy lost his job solely because of his religious expression. Yet the Ninth Circuit nevertheless ruled against him again. The court not only doubled down on its "troubling" free- speech reasoning, which transforms virtually all speech by public-school employees into government speech lacking any First Amendment protection, but reached the remarkable conclusion that, even if Kennedy's prayer was private expression protected by the Free Speech and Free Exercise Clauses (which it undoubtedly was), the Establishment Clause nevertheless required its suppression. The court denied en banc review over the objection of 11 judges. The questions presented are: 1. Whether a public-school employee who says a brief, quiet prayer by himself while at school and visible to students is engaged in government speech that lacks any First Amendment protection. 2. Whether, assuming that such religious expression is private and protected by the Free Speech and Free Exercise Clauses, the Establishment Clause nevertheless compels public schools to prohibit it. LOWER COURT CASE NUMBER: 20-35222
Kennedy v. Bremerton School District is a case that was recently decided by the United States Supreme Court. The case involved a high school student, Ashton Kennedy, who was suspended from school after he refused to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance in protest of racial injustice and police brutality. Kennedy argued that his suspension violated his First Amendment right to free speech as well as his Fourteenth Amendment right to equal protection under the law because other students had been allowed to sit during the pledge without consequence. The Supreme Court ultimately ruled in favor of Kennedy, finding that punishing him for refusing to stand while others were not punished constituted viewpoint discrimination which violates both rights mentioned above. This decision reaffirms an individual's right to express their beliefs through peaceful protests even when those beliefs may be unpopular or controversial with some members of society.
Justice Kennedy wrote the dissenting opinion in the case of Kennedy v. Bremerton School District. In this case, the Supreme Court held that the school district did not violate the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment when it allowed a teacher to lead students in prayer before football games. Justice Kennedy argued that the school district's policy of allowing teachers to lead students in prayer before football games was unconstitutional. He argued that the school district was endorsing religion by allowing teachers to lead students in prayer, and that this violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. He also argued that the school district was coercing students to participate in religious activities, which was also unconstitutional. Justice Kennedy argued that the school district's policy of allowing teachers to lead students in prayer before football games was a form of government-sponsored religious activity, and that this was unconstitutional. He argued that the school district was sending a message to students that it endorsed religion, and that this was a violation of the Establishment Clause. He also argued that the school district was coercing students to participate in religious activities, which was also unconstitutional. Justice Kennedy argued that the school district's policy of allowing teachers to lead students in prayer before football games was unconstitutional because it violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. He argued that the school district was endorsing religion by allowing teachers to lead students in prayer, and that this was a form of government-sponsored religious activity. He also argued that the school district was coercing students to participate in religious activities, which was also unconstitutional.
