County of Allegheny v. American Civil Liberties Union

492 U.S. 573 · Decided July 2, 1989 · Supreme Court of the United States

At a glance

County of Allegheny v. American Civil Liberties Union was decided on July 2, 1989 by a vote of 5–4. The Court affirmed the lower court's decision in part, reversed or vacated it in part, and remanded the case. Justice Harry A. Blackmun wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Establishment of religion” in the First Amendment area.

Read the opinion

• CourtListener (Free Law Project) — opinion text
• Library of Congress — official U.S. Reports scan

Case details

How the Justices voted

Full case caption

County of Allegheny et al. v. American Civil Liberties Union, Greater Pittsburgh Chapter, et al.

SCDB identifiers: case 1988-151, docket 1988-151-01.

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Source: Supreme Court Database, 2026 Release 01 (data file dated September 8, 2026). Imported into CaseTrail November 5, 2026. Coverage: decisions from the 1946 through 2025 Terms. Methodology · Report an error