Locke v. Davey

Locke v. Davey, legal case in which the U.S. Supreme Court ruled (7–2), on February 25, 2004, that a Washington state scholarship program for academically gifted postsecondary students that explicitly excluded students pursuing degrees in theology did not violate the First Amendment’s free exercise of religion clause (“Congress shall make no law…prohibiting the free exercise [of religion]”). The court also found that the state’s policy of refusing to fund theological degrees reflected its legitimate interest in preventing an establishment of religion, which is prohibited in both the U.S. and Washington state constitutions.

Facts of the case

The Washington state legislature established the Promise Scholarship Program to assist eligible postsecondary students with education-related expenses. The scholarship, which was renewable for one year, was paid for out of the state’s general fund and prorated among all eligible students. In 1999–2000 the scholarship awarded $1,125 to each student. In order to qualify, students had to meet specified requirements. First, the student had to have graduated from a high school in Washington state. Second, the student must have graduated in the top 15 percent of his or her class or achieved a score of at least 1,200 on the SAT I or 27 on the ACT. Third, the income of the student’s family could not have been higher than 135 percent of the state average. Fourth, the student had to enroll at least half-time in an eligible institution of higher education in Washington state. Eligible institutions included religiously affiliated accredited colleges and universities. However, consistent with the state constitution’s religious establishment provision, the statute further required that no scholarship could be awarded to a student pursuing a degree in theology. Students using scholarship funds were permitted to attend classes in theology provided that they were seeking degrees in other fields.

Jonathan Davey received a Promise scholarship and enrolled in Northwest College (now Northwest University), a private accredited institution located near Seattle that was associated with the Assemblies of God church. Davey, whose ambition was to become a church pastor, chose to pursue a double major in pastoral studies and business administration. At a meeting with the college’s financial aid director, Davey discovered that he would be unable to receive his Promise scholarship unless he signed a form stating that he would not use the money to pursue a theological degree. After he refused to sign the form, Davey was denied the funds. He then filed suit against state officials, alleging that their refusal to disburse the scholarship funds to him violated the free speech, establishment, and free exercise clauses of the First Amendment as well as the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

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A federal district court in Washington state denied Davey’s request for a preliminary injunction that would have prevented officials from withholding the scholarship funds and granted the defendant’s motion for summary judgment, essentially dismissing his claim. On appeal, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reversed in favour of Davey, reasoning that the state impermissibly singled out religion for unfavourable treatment. Because the state’s concerns about preventing an establishment of religion did not amount to a compelling state interest, the appeals court held, the state had infringed Davey’s right to free exercise of religion. Dissatisfied with the outcome, state officials sought further review.

The Supreme Court’s ruling

The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the Ninth Circuit, declaring that the restrictions on funding under the Promise Scholarship Program did not violate either the free exercise or the free speech clause. The court rejected the plaintiff’s assertion that the scholarship’s lack of facial neutrality toward religion necessarily meant that the restrictions violated the First Amendment. The court explained that excluding funding for theological degrees was not presumptively unconstitutional, because the state was neither criminalizing nor penalizing the study of theology. Instead, the court pointed out, the state merely refused to pay for the student’s study of theology. The court maintained that the state was not obligated to provide funding for such degrees simply because it offered scholarships for degrees in secular subjects.

In rejecting Davey’s free-speech claims, the court held that, because the scholarship was not a forum for speech, the state’s refusal to fund theological degrees could not be considered viewpoint discrimination. If anything, the court interpreted the state’s purpose in establishing the scholarship program as being designed to assist lower-income college students, not to promote diverse viewpoints on campus. The court next rejected Davey’s assertion that the state constitutional provision in question was motivated by anti-religious, particularly anti-Catholic, bias, finding no evidence to support that charge. Because the state’s actions did not violate Davey’s free-exercise rights, the court required only that the state show a rational basis for the different treatment afforded to theology students. The court added that the state had a substantial interest in not funding degrees in theology, because the state constitution forbade such aid. Furthermore, the court was convinced that the lack of such funding placed a relatively minor burden on students. Accordingly, the court concluded that the state did not violate Davey’s rights to equal protection.