Document Type
Brief
Case Name
Arizona Christian School Tuition Organization v. Kathleen M. Winn, Gale Garriott v. Kathleen M. Winn
Publication Date
8-6-2010
Abstract
Nos. 09-987, 09-991
Arizona Christian School Tuition Organization v. Kathleen M. Winn, Gale Garriott v. Kathleen M. Winn
On Writs of Certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
From the Introduction and Summary of the Argument
We agree entirely with Petitioners that the panel below misapplied this Court’s relevant doctrines and decisions – including Zelman – and that the ruling under review is neither required by, nor consistent with, the First Amendment to our Constitution. Arizona’s tax-credit program does not impermissibly “establish” or “endorse” religion. Instead, it is an entirely permissible (and promising) policy experiment that empowers taxpayers and parents to provide enhanced educational opportunities to children through a religion-neutral tax-credit mechanism. See New State Ice Co. v. Liebmann, 285 U.S. 262, 311 (1932) (Brandeis, J., dissenting)(“It is one of the happy incidents of the federal system that a single courageous state may, if its citizens choose, serve as a laboratory[.]”). For the reasons stated and elaborated in Judge O’Scannlain’s dissent from denial of rehearing, the decision below should be reversed, and the Establishment Clause challenge to the Arizona program rejected.
Recommended Citation
Garnett, Richard W. and Coons, John E., "Brief Amicus Curiae of the American Center for School Choice in Support of Petitioners" (2010). Court Briefs. 69.
https://scholarship.law.nd.edu/sct_briefs/69
Comments
The American Center for School Choice (“ACSC”) is a non-profit corporate entity, founded in 2008 and dedicated to the proposition that meaningful parental choice in education is a moral and civic imperative and serves well the good of children, the good of families, and the good of the political community.
Table of Authorities includes:
Nicole Stelle Garnett & Richard W. Garnett, School Choice, The First Amendment, and Social Justice, 4 TEX. REV. L. & POL. 301 (2000).
Richard W. Garnett, Taking Pierce Seriously: The Family, Religious Education, and Harm to Children, 76 NOTRE DAME L. REV. 109 (2000).