Home > Great American Court Cases > Wallace v. Jaffree

Legal Citation: 472 U.S. 38 (1985)

Appellant
George C. Wallace, Governor of Alabama

Appellee
Ishmael Jaffree

Appellant's Claim
That public schools can provide students with a minute of silence each day for purposes of meditation or prayer without violating the doctrine of church-state separation.

Chief Lawyer for Appellant
John S. Baker, Jr.

Chief Lawyer for Appellee
Ronnie L. Williams

Justices for the Court
Harry A. Blackmun, William J. Brennan, Jr., Thurgood Marshall, Sandra Day O'Connor, Lewis F. Powell, Jr., John Paul Stevens (writing for the Court)

Justices Dissenting
Warren E. Burger, William H. Rehnquist, Byron R. White

Place
Washington, D.C.

Date of Decision
4 December 1984

Decision
The Supreme Court struck down the Alabama "moment of silence"...