Wright v. Houston Independent School District
Wright v. Houston Independent School District | |
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Court | United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit |
Full case name | Rita Wright et al., Plaintiffs, Leona Weber, acting as next
friend for Rita Wright, a minor, Plaintiff-Appellant, John R. Brown, Sr., Individually, etc., et al., Intervenors-Appellants, v. The Houston Independent School District et al., Defendants-Appellees. |
Decided | October 10, 1973 |
Citation | 486 F.2d 137 |
Case history | |
Prior history | Dismissed, 366 F. Supp. 1208, (S.D. Tex. August 3, 1972). |
Subsequent history | Rehearing en banc denied, November 30, 1973; cert. denied, June 1974; dismissal affirmed |
Holding | |
The teaching of evolution does not constitute establishment of secular religion; religious protections do not require shielding those from views they find incompatible with their religion; it would be unwarranted intrusion for courts to compel schools to balance curriculum with alternative theories; District Court decision affirmed | |
Court membership | |
Judges sitting | Irving Loeb Goldberg, Charles Clark, Paul Hitch Roney |
Case opinions | |
Per curiam | |
Laws applied | |
U.S. Const. amend. I, amend. XIV |
Wright v. Houston Independent School District, 486 F.2d 137 (5th Cir. 1973)
The suit was dismissed prior to trial, the presiding judge for the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas finding Wright had "wholly failed to establish the analogy"[3] between the teaching of evolution and an establishment of religion. The Court held:
Plaintiffs' case depends in large measure upon their demonstrating a connection between "religion," as employed in the first amendment, and Defendants' approach to the subject of evolution. The Court is convinced that the connection is too tenuous a thread on which to base a first amendment complaint.[3]
The judge,
Wright appealed the decision to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. In 1973 the Appeals Court affirmed the lower court decision dismissing the suit.[1] In June 1974 the United States Supreme Court refused to hear the case, and later lawsuits involving restrictions and impositions on evolution in school curricula reaffirmed the Wright decision.[2]
Related cases
References
- ^ a b c Wright v. Houston Independent School District, 486 F.2d 137 (5th Cir. 1973).
- ^ ISBN 978-1-57607-420-6.
- ^ a b c d Wright v. Houston Independent School District, 366 F. Supp. 1208 (S.D. Tex. 1972).
External links
- Text of Wright v. Houston Independent School District, 366 F. Supp. 1208 (S.D. Tex. 1972) is available from: CourtListener Justia Leagle Google Scholar Talk Origins
- Text of Wright v. Houston Independent School District, 486 F.2d 137 (5th Cir. 1973) is available from: CourtListener Justia OpenJurist Google Scholar Talk Origins