The U.S. Supreme Court case Larkin et al. v. Grendel's Den, Inc., 1982 revolved around a Massachusetts law that allowed religious institutions to prevent the issuance of liquor licenses to businesses within a certain proximity of their establishments. The plaintiff in this case was Grendel's Den, a restaurant located near two churches which had used this law to block its application for such license. The court ruled in favor of Grendel’s Den by an 8-1 majority, stating that the Massachusetts statute violated the Establishment Clause and Due Process Clause of the First Amendment as it effectively granted governmental powers to religious bodies without any secular legislative purpose or clear guidelines on how these powers should be exercised.

In the dissenting opinion for Larkin et al. v. Grendel's Den, Inc., Justice White argued that the majority had misinterpreted the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment and overstepped its bounds by invalidating a Massachusetts law that allowed churches to veto liquor licenses in their vicinity. He contended that this was not an instance of government delegating its power to religious bodies but rather a case where state legislature decided certain decisions would be best made at local levels with input from those most affected - including churches and schools. The justice believed there was no constitutional violation as long as these institutions were not given absolute authority or preference over other community members' interests, which he did not believe they were under this law.