Sherbert v. Verner

E12350

First Amendment case United States Supreme Court case landmark case religious freedom case

Sherbert v. Verner is a landmark 1963 U.S. Supreme Court case that strengthened protections for religious liberty by requiring strict scrutiny of government actions that substantially burden individuals’ religious practices.

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Observed surface forms (1)

Surface form	Occurrences
U.S. Supreme Court opinion in Sherbert v. Verner	1

Statements (48)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	First Amendment case ⓘ United States Supreme Court case ⓘ landmark case ⓘ religious freedom case ⓘ
appliedTo	state unemployment compensation schemes ⓘ
appliesTo	individuals whose religious beliefs conflict with work requirements ⓘ
areaOfLaw	civil liberties ⓘ constitutional law ⓘ religion and the law ⓘ
burdenFound	substantial burden on religious practice ⓘ
characterizedAs	strengthening protections for religious liberty ⓘ
chiefJusticeAtDecision	Earl Warren ⓘ
citation	374 U.S. 398 ⓘ
constitutionalClause	Free Exercise Clause ⓘ
constitutionalProvision	First Amendment to the United States Constitution ⓘ
country	United States of America ⓘ surface form: United States
court	Supreme Court of the United States ⓘ
decisionDate	1963-06-17 ⓘ
dissentBy	Byron R. White ⓘ John M. Harlan II ⓘ surface form: John Marshall Harlan II
doctrineName	Sherbert test ⓘ surface form: Sherbert compelling interest test
factPattern	Seventh-day Adventist denied unemployment benefits for refusing Saturday work ⓘ
fullName	Sherbert v. Verner self-link ⓘ
governmentInterestFound	insufficient to justify burden on religion ⓘ
holding	The denial of unemployment benefits to a person who refuses to work on her Sabbath violates the Free Exercise Clause absent a compelling state interest. ⓘ
influenced	Religious Freedom Restoration Act ⓘ surface form: Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993
language	English ⓘ
laterLimitedBy	Employment Division v. Smith ⓘ
legalIssue	free exercise of religion ⓘ religious discrimination ⓘ unemployment compensation ⓘ
majorityOpinionBy	William J. Brennan Jr. ⓘ
originatingJurisdiction	South Carolina ⓘ
petitioner	Adele Sherbert ⓘ
precedentFor	Frazee v. Illinois Department of Employment Security ⓘ Hobbie v. Unemployment Appeals Commission of Florida ⓘ Thomas v. Review Board of the Indiana Employment Security Division ⓘ Wisconsin v. Yoder ⓘ
requires	showing of compelling governmental interest ⓘ showing of substantial burden on religious exercise ⓘ use of least restrictive means ⓘ
respondent	Verner, Administrator, Employment Security Commission of South Carolina ⓘ
standardEstablished	Sherbert test ⓘ
standardType	strict scrutiny ⓘ
stateActionChallenged	denial of unemployment compensation benefits ⓘ
stillCitedFor	strict scrutiny in free exercise cases involving individualized exemptions ⓘ
vote	7-2 ⓘ
yearDecided	1963 ⓘ

Referenced by (9)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Sherbert v. Verner → fullName → Sherbert v. Verner self-link ⓘ

Free Exercise Clause → interpretedInCase → Sherbert v. Verner ⓘ

Verner, Administrator, Employment Security Commission of South Carolina → namedAsRespondentIn → Sherbert v. Verner ⓘ

Verner, Administrator, Employment Security Commission of South Carolina → namedIn → Sherbert v. Verner ⓘ

this entity surface form: U.S. Supreme Court opinion in Sherbert v. Verner

Sherbert test → originatedInCase → Sherbert v. Verner ⓘ

Adele Sherbert → partyToCase → Sherbert v. Verner ⓘ

Frazee v. Illinois Department of Employment Security → precededByCase → Sherbert v. Verner ⓘ

Hobbie v. Unemployment Appeals Commission of Florida → relatedCase → Sherbert v. Verner ⓘ

Thomas v. Review Board of the Indiana Employment Security Division → relatedCase → Sherbert v. Verner ⓘ