Hein v. Freedom From Religion Foundation
2007 United States Supreme Court case / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Hein v. Freedom From Religion Foundation, 551 U.S. 587 (2007), was a decision by the United States Supreme Court which ruled that taxpayers do not have the right to challenge the constitutionality of expenditures by the executive branch of the government.[1] The issue was whether taxpayers have the right to challenge the existence of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives.[2] The case centered on three Supreme Court precedents: Flast v. Cohen,[3] Bowen v. Kendrick,[4] and Valley Forge Christian College v. Americans United for Separation of Church & State.[5]
Hein v. Freedom From Religion Foundation | |
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Argued February 28, 2007 Decided June 25, 2007 | |
Full case name | Hein, Jay, et al. (Dir., White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives) v. Freedom from Religion Foundation, Inc., et al. |
Docket no. | 06-157 |
Citations | 551 U.S. 587 (more) 127 S. Ct. 2553; 168 L. Ed. 2d 424 |
Case history | |
Prior | Freedom from Religion Foundation v. Chao, 433 F.3d 989 (7th Cir. 2006); rehearing en banc denied, 447 F.3d 988 (7th Cir. 2006); cert. granted, 549 U.S. 1074 (2006). |
Holding | |
Taxpayers do not have the right to challenge the constitutionality of expenditures by the executive branch of the government. | |
Court membership | |
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Case opinions | |
Plurality | Alito, joined by Roberts, Kennedy |
Concurrence | Kennedy |
Concurrence | Scalia (in judgment), joined by Thomas |
Dissent | Souter, joined by Stevens, Ginsburg, Breyer |
Laws applied | |
U.S. Const. Art. I, §8; U.S. Const. Art. I, §9; U.S. Const. amend. I |
In a 5–4 vote the Supreme Court ruled that the Foundation did not have standing to sue and reversed the court of appeals.