Kennedy v. Bremerton School Dist.

Summary

The Court held that the District violated Kennedy’s Free Exercise and Free Speech rights by disciplining him for brief, personal postgame prayers during a period when comparable secular activities were permitted. His prayers were private speech, and the District’s asserted Establishment Clause concerns did not justify suppressing them. The Court rejected Lemon and its endorsement-test offshoot in favor of historical practices and understandings, and found no evidence of coercion concerning the prayers underlying the discipline. Justice Gorsuch wrote for the Court; Chief Justice Roberts and Justices Thomas, Alito, and Barrett joined fully, while Justice Kavanaugh joined except as to Part III–B. Justice Thomas separately emphasized unresolved questions about public employees’ free-exercise rights and the applicable scrutiny. Justice Alito emphasized the narrow circumstances and the Court’s reservation of the governing speech standard. Justice Sotomayor, joined by Justices Breyer and Kagan, dissented, arguing that the prayer practice’s history and school setting established endorsement and coercion, and criticizing the abandonment of Lemon.