Valley Forge Christian College v. Americans United for Separation of Church and State, Inc.
454 U.S. 464 · Decided January 12, 1982 · Supreme Court of the United States
At a glance
Valley Forge Christian College v. Americans United for Separation of Church and State, Inc. was decided on January 12, 1982 by a vote of 5–4. The Court reversed the lower court's decision. Justice William H. Rehnquist wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Standing, taxpayer suits” in the Judicial Power area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 454 U.S. 464 · 102 S. Ct. 752 · 70 L. Ed. 2d 700 · 1982 U.S. LEXIS 22
- Docket number
- 80-327
- Decided
- January 12, 1982
- Argued
- November 4, 1981
- Court era
- Burger Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Reversed
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 5–4
- Majority opinion
- William H. Rehnquist
- Opinion assigned by
- Warren E. Burger
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Standing, taxpayer suits
- Issue area
- Judicial Power
- Legal provision
- Article III, Section 2, Paragraph 1 (case or controversy requirement)
- Type of law
- Constitution
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Conservative what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Byron R. White | Majority | |
| Justice Thurgood Marshall | Dissent | |
| Chief Justice Warren E. Burger | Majority | |
| Justice Harry A. Blackmun | Dissent | |
| Justice Lewis F. Powell Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice William H. Rehnquist | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Sandra Day O'Connor | Majority |
Full case caption
Valley Forge Christian College v. Americans United for Separation of Church and State, Inc., et al.
SCDB identifiers: case 1981-026, docket 1981-026-01.
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Cases on the same legal provision: Article III, Section 2, Paragraph 1 (case or controversy requirement)
- Watt v. Energy Action Educational Foundation
- Railway Labor Executives' Assn. v. GibbonsLaw held unconstitutional
- University of Texas v. Camenisch
- H. L. v. Matheson
- Director v. Perini North River Associates
- City of Los Angeles v. Lyons
Same Term, same area (Judicial Power)
- Leeke v. Timmerman
- Fair Assessment in Real Estate Association, Inc. v. McNary
- Piper Aircraft Co. v. Reyno
- Princeton University v. Schmid
- Tully v. Mobil Oil Corp.
- Consolidated Freightways Corporation of Delaware v. Kassel
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