Heffron v. International Society for Krishna Consciousness, Inc.

452 U.S. 640 · Decided June 22, 1981 · Supreme Court of the United States

At a glance

Heffron v. International Society for Krishna Consciousness, Inc. was decided on June 22, 1981 by a vote of 5–4. The Court reversed the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Justice Byron R. White wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Free exercise of religion” in the First Amendment area.

Read the opinion

• CourtListener (Free Law Project) — opinion text
• Library of Congress — official U.S. Reports scan

Case details

How the Justices voted

Full case caption

Heffron, Secretary and Manager of the Minnesota State Agricultural Society Board of Managers, et al. v. International Society for Krishna Consciousness, Inc., et al.

SCDB identifiers: case 1980-128, docket 1980-128-01.

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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