Walz v. Tax Commission of the City of New York

Walz v. Tax Commission
Argued November 19, 1969
Decided May 4, 1970
Full case nameWalz v. Tax Commission of the City of New York
Citations397 U.S. 664 (more)
90 S. Ct. 1409; 25 L. Ed. 2d 697; 1970 U.S. LEXIS 43
ArgumentOral argument
Case history
PriorSummary judgment affirmed by New York Court of Appeals, 24 N.Y.2d 30, 246 N.E.2d 517 (1969); probable jurisdiction noted, 395 U.S. 957 (1969).
Holding
Grants of tax exemption to religious organizations do not violate the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.
Court membership
Chief Justice
Warren E. Burger
Associate Justices
Hugo Black · William O. Douglas
John M. Harlan II · William J. Brennan Jr.
Potter Stewart · Byron White
Thurgood Marshall
Case opinions
MajorityBurger, joined by Black, Harlan, Brennan, Stewart, White, Marshall
ConcurrenceBrennan
ConcurrenceHarlan (in judgment)
DissentDouglas
Laws applied
U.S. Const., Amends. I and XIV

Walz v. Tax Commission of the City of New York, 397 U.S. 664 (1970), was a case before the United States Supreme Court. The Court held that grants of tax exemption to religious organizations do not violate the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. It was the first case to articulate the "excessive entanglement doctrine" that one year later became the third prong of the Lemon test.