Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2017
Abstract
Strict scrutiny and the free exercise of religion have had an uneasy relationship in American jurisprudence. In this Article, we trace the history of strict scrutiny in free exercise cases and outline how it applies today. Then, using a unique dataset of cases from a 25-year period, we detail the characteristics of these cases. Finally, we discuss the implications for future cases. Our research indicates that even though claimants currently win a large percentage of cases, those victories might not be durable.
Keywords
Constitutional law, religious liberty, Supreme Court of the United States, SCOTUS, free exercise clause, compelling interest, undue burden, empirical legal studies
Publication Title
Montana Law Review
Repository Citation
Wolanek, Caleb C. and Liu, Heidi H., "Applying Strict Scrutiny: An Empirical Analysis of Free Exercise Cases" (2017). All Faculty Scholarship. 2515.
https://scholarship.law.upenn.edu/faculty_scholarship/2515
Included in
Constitutional Law Commons, First Amendment Commons, Religion Law Commons, Supreme Court of the United States Commons
Publication Citation
75 Mont. L. Rev. 275 (2017)