ACLJ: Supreme Court Decision on Washington State Scholarship Case Sanctions Religious Discrimination.Business Editors WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 25, 2004 The American Center The American Center is a high-rise tower in Southfield, Michigan. It was built in 1975 and stands at 26 floors, with one basement floor, for a total of 27. The building's main use is that of a typical office tower. It also includes a parking garage and retail spaces. for Law and Justice, an international public interest law firm, said today's decision by the U.S. Supreme Court overturning an appeals court decision that found the state of Washington discriminated against a college student when it denied the student state scholarship funds because he majored in Pastoral Ministries is very disappointing and "clearly sanctions religious discrimination." "We are very disappointed with a decision that clearly sanctions religious discrimination," said Jay Sekulow, Chief Counsel of the ACLJ ACLJ American Center for Law and Justice ACLJ Appleseed Center for Law and Justice (Washington, DC) , who presented oral arguments before the Supreme Court in December challenging the Washington state policy. "It is troubling that the decision is irreconcilable with more than half century of Supreme Court precedent regarding the free exercise of religion. In this case, Josh Davey simply wanted to be treated equally on the same terms and conditions as other scholarship recipients. The decision does not prohibit states from structuring scholarship programs to permit the pursuit of a degree in devotional de·vo·tion·al adj. Of, relating to, expressive of, or used in devotion, especially of a religious nature. n. A short religious service. de·vo theology. The Supreme Court, however, missed an important opportunity to protect the constitutional rights of all students." The ACLJ represented Joshua Davey, who attended Northwest College Northwest College offers 2-year associates degrees, and is located in Powell, Wyoming, near Yellowstone National Park. Northwest College was founded in 1946. It was initially called the "University of Wyoming Northwest Center", but University of Wyoming support was discontinued in in Kirkland, Washington Kirkland is a city in King County, Washington, United States. It is a suburb of Seattle located on the Eastside (of Lake Washington). As of April 1, 2005, the city had an estimated population of 45,740, making Kirkland the eighth largest city in King County and the eighteenth and who was awarded the state's Promise Scholarship because of academic excellence and financial need only to have it withdrawn after he declared a double major that included Pastoral Ministries and Business Management. The state said scholarship funds could not go to a student who pursued a degree in religious studies when taught from a religious perspective. In July 2002, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit overturned a district court ruling and declared the Washington policy unconstitutional unconstitutional adj. referring to a statute, governmental conduct, court decision or private contract (such as a covenant which purports to limit transfer of real property only to Caucasians) which violate one or more provisions of the U. S. Constitution. and concluded that the state "impermissibly im·per·mis·si·ble adj. Not permitted; not permissible: impermissible behavior. im deprived Davey of his scholarship." The Supreme Court decision was 7-2 to overturn the appeals court ruling with Justices Scalia and Thomas dissenting. The American Center for Law and Justice is an international public interest law firm specializing in constitutional law. The ACLJ is based in Washington, D.C. and its web address is www.aclj.org. |
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