Bender et al. v. Williamsport Area School District et al. (475 U.S. 534)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided March 25, 1986 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 475 U.S. 534 · 106 S. Ct. 1326
- Decided
- March 25, 1986
- Term
- October Term 1985
- Vote
- 5–4
- Majority author
- Justice Stevens
- Issue area
- First Amendment
- Disposition
- Vacated and remanded
- Outcome
- Petitioning party lost
- Ideological direction
- Liberal
Opinion excerpt
Justice Stevens delivered the opinion of the Court. This case raises an important question of federal appellate jurisdiction that was not considered by the Court of Appeals: Whether one member of a School Board has standing to appeal from a declaratory judgment against the Board. We conclude that although the School Board itself had a sufficient stake in the outcome of the litigation to appeal, an individual Board member cannot invoke the Board’s interest in the case to confer standing upon himself. I — I In September 1981 a group of high school students in Wil-liamsport, Pennsylvania, formed a club called “Petros” for the purpose of promoting “spiritual growth and positive attitudes in the lives of its members.” App. 46. The group asked the Principal of the high school for permission to meet on school premises during student activity periods scheduled diming the regular schoolday on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The Principal allowed Petros to hold an organizational meeting that was attended by approximately 45 students. At that meeting passages of scripture were read and some students prayed. There is no evidence that any students, or parents, expressed any opposition or concern about future meetings of Petros. The Principal nevertheless advised the group that they could not hold any further meetings until he had discussed the matter with the School Superintendent. The…
Excerpt of a 40,976-character opinion. The full text and citation network load in the interactive viewer above.