Wisconsin v. YoderBy: Angelina Armadillo, Jake Albazi, Myracle Earby

and Kambria carrethers

Facts● Three parents were prosecuted under a Wisconsin

law that required children to go to school until age 16○ The parents were Jonas Yoder, Wallace Miller,

and Adin Yutzy● The parents refused to send their children to school

after eighth grade stating it was against their religious beliefs ○ Yoder and Miller —> Old Order Amish○ Yutzy —> Conservative Amish Mennonite

Question

● Did Wisconsin's requirement that all parents send their children to school at least until age 16 violate the First Amendment by criminalizing the conduct of parents who refused to send their children to school for religious reasons?

Court Decisions

● Green county ○ Fined the parents $5 ○ Ruled that the kids still need to go to school till

16 years old○ Parents did not agree and took it to court

● Wisconsin Circuit Court ○ Agreed with Green county

Court Decision Con’t● Wisconsin Supreme Court

○ Agreed with Yoder ○ Against the Amish religious beliefs

● Supreme Court of the United States ○ Unanimous decision of yes ○ The free exercise clause did protect the Amish

parents to take their kids out from school under the age of 16 years old

Majority Opinion

● Deemed unconstitutional ● Violated the Amish first amendment rights ● Their rights outweighed State’s interest

Concurring OpinionMr.Justice Stewartconcurring states that he agrees with courts on his decision but also finds the dissenting opinion interesting point of view although during the time of the case only one child was interviewed.

The court found no evidence that by leaving the Amish community without two years of schooling the children will buren on society.

Dissenting Opinion● Justice William O. Douglass dissented in part● He disagreed with the Court's conclusion that the

matter is within the dispensation of parents alone.○ It is the future of the students, not the future of

the parents, which was imperiled by the decision

Judicial philosophy

● Home-based education beyond the eighth grade sufficiently prepared children to function within and contribute to Amish society

● Forcing parents to send their children to high school threatened the Amish religion and way of life

● The Supreme Court of the United States went with the constitution under the free exercise clause

Public Opinion

● Some believe it is far beyond the right to free exercise of religion

● The ruling is part of parental control of the children’s education

● Others believe that the ruling was right due to the unique way of Amish life

The Legacy● What happened as a result

○ As a result of Wisconsin v. Yoder, all states must allow the Old Order Amish to either establish their own schools or withdraw from any public schools.

● How has ruling influenced American society○ As a result of Wisconsin v. Yoder, it established a

basis to allow education outside of traditional private and public school, by homeschooling.

The Legacy continued ● How has this ruling influenced subsequent rulings?

○ Wisconsin v Yoder has contributed to Reynolds v. United States.

Are there any “tests” that are employed now as a result?

● The three-part test: values state education over religious freedom

Wisconsin v. Yoder video https://youtu.be/wo1fp55P7wk