University of Detroit Mercy School of Law announces an upcoming Federalist Society event on Tuesday, Oct. 12, from 2 to 4 p.m. in the Atrium of the School of Law located at 651 East Jefferson Avenue in downtown Detroit. Ken Klukowski, of the American Civil Rights Union and Townhall.com, will deliver his speech, "Religion in America: The Establishment Clause and the Lemon Test."
The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in the case of Lemon v. Kurtzman, 403 U.S. 602 (1971), established the requirements for legislation pertaining to religion. To be constitutional under the Establishment Clause of the United States Constitution, the legislation must satisfy the following three elements:
1. The government's action must have a secular legislative purpose.
2. The government's action must not have the primary effect of either advancing or inhibiting religion.
3. The government's action must not result in an "excessive government entanglement" with religion.
Klukowski, a senior analyst and fellow at the American Civil Rights Union, covers the U.S. Supreme Court for Townhall.com, contributes to BigGovernment.com and Fox Forum, lectures at law schools across the nation, and is a practicing attorney. His presentation on the Lemon Test will touch on how it was created, how it is applied, what the ramifications have been, and what the future holds for the doctrine.
A Q&A session will follow the presentation. There is no charge for this event, and it is open to the public.
The UDM Law Federalist Society is a student organization founded on the principles that the state exists to preserve freedom, that the separation of governmental powers is central to the Constitution, and that it is emphatically the province and duty of the judiciary to say what the law is, not what it should be.
For more information about the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law, visit www.law.udmercy.edu.
Published: Mon, Oct 11, 2010
