Zorach v. Clauson

343 U.S. 306 · Decided April 28, 1952 · Supreme Court of the United States

At a glance

Zorach v. Clauson was decided on April 28, 1952 by a vote of 6–3. The Court affirmed the lower court's decision. Justice William O. Douglas wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Parochiaid (aid to religious schools)” 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

Zorach et al. v. Clauson et Al., Constituting the Board of Education of the City of New York, et al.

SCDB identifiers: case 1951-072, docket 1951-072-01.

Related decisions

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

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  392 U.S. 236Decided June 10, 19686–3Byron R. White
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Cases on the same legal provision: First Amendment (free exercise of religion)

• Kedroff v. Saint Nicholas Cathedral of the Russian Orthodox Church in North AmericaLaw held unconstitutional
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  363 U.S. 190Decided June 6, 19609–0Per curiam
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Same Term, same area (First Amendment)

• Adler v. Board of Education of the City of New York
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  342 U.S. 580Decided March 10, 19526–2Robert H. Jackson
• Beauharnais v. Illinois
  343 U.S. 250Decided April 28, 19525–4Felix Frankfurter
• Joseph Burstyn, Inc. v. WilsonAltered precedentLaw held unconstitutional
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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