Supreme Court Justice (nominated by Pres. Reagan 1981)
Mitchell case:No government money to religious organizations
Justice O'Connor has refused to acquiesce and is the crucial vote on this Court keeping the spirit of the Establishment Clause alive, as her concurrence in Mitchell v. Helms made absolutely clear. In that case, a four-member plurality took
the view that it would permit the government to give money to religious organizations, so long as it went to other, non-religious organizations as well-even if it was later learned that the money was being used for religious purposes.
Justice O'Connor was not persuaded to join the formalism of such reasoning, but rather insisted that if government support is transformed into support for religious missions and proselytization, that is contrary to the intent of the Framers.
Source: Findlaw.com, "Hamilton"
Jun 7, 2001
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