Employment Division v. Smith

485 U.S. 660 · Decided April 27, 1988 · Supreme Court of the United States

At a glance

Employment Division v. Smith was decided on April 27, 1988 by a vote of 5–3. The Court vacated the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Justice John Paul Stevens wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Free exercise 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

Did not participate: Anthony M. Kennedy.

Full case caption

Employment Division, Department of Human Resources of the State of Oregon, et al. v. Smith

SCDB identifiers: case 1987-070, docket 1987-070-01.

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Same Term, same area (First Amendment)

• Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier
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• Richard E. Lyng v. Northwest Indian Cemetery Protective Association
  485 U.S. 439Decided April 19, 19885–3Sandra Day O'Connor
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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