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36 Mercer L. Rev. 409 (1984-1985)
Lynch v. Donnelly: Our Christmans Will Be Merry Still

handle is hein.journals/mercer36 and id is 419 raw text is: NOTE Lynch v. Donnelly Our Christmas Will Be Merry Still In Lynch v. Donnelly,' the United States Supreme Court, in a five-to- four decision, held that a local government does not violate the establish- ment clause of the first amendment when it owns and displays a creche in its annual Christmas display. The Court reached this decision notwith- standing the religious significance of the creche. First, this Note will examine the history of the Supreme Court's interpretation of the first amendment's establishment clause. Second, it will concentrate on three cases in which federal courts considered the question of whether the pub- lic display of a creche violated the establishment clause. Finally, it will analyze the Supreme Court's decision in Lynch to permit the display and the ramifications of the Court's reasoning. The establishment clause of the first amendment provides that Con- gress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohib- iting the free exercise thereof.4 The clause states a broad objective be- cause the framers of the Constitution wanted to prevent the three evils of sponsorship, financial support, and active involvement of the sovereign 1. 104 S. Ct. 1355 (1984). (Chief Justice Burger delivered the opinion of the Court. Jus- tice O'Connor filed a concurring opinion. Justice Brennan submitted a dissenting opinion in which Justices Marshall, Blackmun, and Stevens joined. Justice Blackmun also filed a sepa- rate dissent in which Justice Stevens joined.) 2. Id. at 1366. 3. Id. 4. U.S. CousT. amend. . A discussion of the origin and development of the first amend- ment is largely outside the scope of this Article; however, for a discussion of the origin of the establishment clause, see R. MLLmR & RX FLownEs, TowARDs Bgmvozpnr NnTrrAL- rrv: CHuRcm, STATE, AmD TEE SUPasME Couwr 1-4 (1982); Note, Church v. State and The Supreme Court: The Current Meaning of the Establishment Clause, 5 OKA. Crry U.L REv. 683, 685-88 (1980). 409

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