PSCI 3303 Lecture Notes - Lecture 8: Peyote, William Rehnquist, Fourteenth Amendment To The United States Constitution

• School: UT-Dallas
• Department: Political Science
• Course: PSCI 3303
• Professor: Champagne Anthony

Document Summary

If the state regulates conduct by enacting a general law within its power, the purpose and effect of which is to advance the state"s secular goals, the statue is valid despite its indirect burden on religious. Is this law general? (ex, catholics can"t use bread on sunday) Adds a less drastic means test to the previous rule and a compelling purpose. Then move to modified secular rule (sherbert test) Move back to secular rule (oregon v. smith) Religious freedom restoration act gets passed, pushes modified again. Sc says secular rule (bernie v flores) for states but modified for federal. Seventh day adventist refused unemployment compensation because cannot work on saturday. Court respects free exercise by adopting the modified secular rule. Two people get fired for using peyote, which was against oregon law. Bans on applications of neutral generally applicable laws usually apply to hybrid cases. Sherbert rule only applies to unemployment cases, not criminal cases.