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Church of the Lukumi Babalu Aye, Inc. and Ernesto Pichardo v. City of Hialeah

508 U.S. 520 · Decided June 11, 1993 · Supreme Court of the United States

Record summary. This page is generated from the Supreme Court Database’s coded data about the case. It describes who decided what, not the Court’s reasoning. Read the opinion itself before relying on it. Not legal advice.

At a glance

Church of the Lukumi Babalu Aye, Inc. and Ernesto Pichardo v. City of Hialeah was decided on June 11, 1993 unanimously (9–0). The Court reversed the lower court's decision. Justice Anthony M. Kennedy wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Free exercise of religion” in the First Amendment area. SCDB records that the Court declared a municipal or other local ordinance unconstitutional.

Read the opinion

Case details

Citations
508 U.S. 520 · 113 S. Ct. 2217 · 124 L. Ed. 2d 472 · 1993 U.S. LEXIS 4022
Docket number
91-948
Decided
June 11, 1993
Argued
November 4, 1992
Decision type
Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
Disposition
Reversed
Outcome for petitioner
The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
Vote
9–0 (unanimous)
Majority opinion
Anthony M. Kennedy
Opinion assigned by
William H. Rehnquist
How the case arrived
Certiorari
Issue area
First Amendment
Legal provision
First Amendment (free exercise of religion)
Type of law
Constitutional amendment
Held unconstitutional
A municipal or other local ordinance
Decision direction (SCDB)
Liberal what this means

How the Justices voted

JusticeVoteSeparate writing
Justice Byron R. WhiteMajority
Justice Harry A. BlackmunSpecial concurrenceWrote an opinion
Chief Justice William H. RehnquistConcurrence
Justice John Paul StevensMajority
Justice Sandra Day O'ConnorSpecial concurrence
Justice Antonin ScaliaConcurrenceWrote an opinion
Justice Anthony M. KennedyMajorityWrote an opinion
Justice David H. SouterSpecial concurrenceWrote an opinion
Justice Clarence ThomasMajority

Full case caption

Church of the Lukumi Babalu Aye, Inc. and Ernesto Pichardo v. City of Hialeah

SCDB identifiers: case 1992-093, docket 1992-093-01.

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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