New York v. Cathedral Academy

434 U.S. 125 · Decided December 6, 1977 · Supreme Court of the United States

At a glance

New York v. Cathedral Academy was decided on December 6, 1977 by a vote of 6–3. The Court reversed the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Justice Potter Stewart wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Parochiaid (aid to religious schools)” in the First Amendment area. SCDB records that the Court declared a state or territorial law, regulation or constitutional provision unconstitutional.

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

New York v. Cathedral Academy

SCDB identifiers: case 1977-013, docket 1977-013-01.

Related decisions

Other cases on “Parochiaid (aid to religious schools)”

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  444 U.S. 646Decided February 20, 19805–4Byron R. White
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  417 U.S. 402Decided June 10, 19748–1Harry A. Blackmun
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Cases on the same legal provision: First Amendment (establishment of religion)

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  449 U.S. 39Decided November 17, 19805–4Per curiam
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  463 U.S. 783Decided July 5, 19836–3Warren E. Burger
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  465 U.S. 668Decided March 5, 19845–4Warren E. Burger

Same Term, same area (First Amendment)

• McDaniel v. PatyLaw held unconstitutional
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• Landmark Communications, Inc. v. VirginiaLaw held unconstitutional
  435 U.S. 829Decided May 1, 19787–0Warren E. Burger
• Pinkus v. United States
  436 U.S. 293Decided May 23, 19788–1Warren E. Burger
• Houchins v. Kqed, Inc.
  438 U.S. 1Decided June 26, 19784–3Warren E. Burger
• Federal Communications Commission v. Pacifica Foundation
  438 U.S. 726Decided July 3, 19785–4John Paul Stevens

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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