Locke v. Davey
Locke v. Davey, 540 U.S. 712 (2004), is a United States Supreme Court decision upholding the constitutionality of a Washington publicly funded scholarship program which excluded students pursuing a "degree in devotional theology".The legislature of Washington State created the Promise Scholarship in 1999 for students who met academic, enrollment, and income qualifications.The Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit applied Church of Lukumi Babalu Aye v. City of Hialeah to uphold the Free Exercise claim saying it was express discrimination that the "State had singled out religion for unfavorable treatment".The Court now had to decide if public aid for religious education could be banned by state constitutions without violating the Free Exercise Clause.[7] In Trinity Lutheran the clergy training exception allowed Chief Justice John Roberts to distinguish Locke v. Davey.