Home > Great American Court Cases > West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette

Legal Citation: 319 U.S. 624 (1943)

Appellant
West Virginia State Board of Education

Appellee
Walter Barnette

Appellant's Claim
That a state law mandating a daily salute of the American flag by public school children does not violate the First Amendment's guarantee of religious freedom.

Chief Lawyer for Appellant
W. Holt Wooddell

Chief Lawyer for Appellee
Hayden C. Covington

Justices for the Court
Hugo Lafayette Black, William O. Douglas, Robert H. Jackson (writing for the Court), Frank Murphy, Stanley Forman Reed, Owen Josephus Roberts

Justices Dissenting
Felix Frankfurter, Wiley Blount Rutledge, Harlan Fiske Stone

Place
Washington, D.C.

Date of Decision
14 June 1943

Decision
The Supreme Court struck down the West Virginia flag salute law.