Seven New York taxpayers, including two officials of a Jewish organization, filed a suit today in the United States Supreme Court to win the right to sue the government over spending of federal funds for religious-sponsored schools.
The plaintiffs took the action in appealing dismissal of their suit in June by a special three-judge panel, which rejected the suit on grounds that the seven plaintiffs had no standing to sue. The three-judge federal panel did not rule on the merits of the complaint. The majority decision cited a 1923 Supreme Court ruling that taxpayers have no standing to sue because their contributions in taxes are too small to give them a “real interest” in a court decision. The suit is backed by the American Jewish Congress, the New York Civil Liberties Union, the United Federation of Teachers and the United Parents Association.
The core of the suit is a complaint that the federal constitution is being violated in the way Titles I and II of the Federal Elementary and Secondary Act of 1965 are being administered. Government funds are being provided for instruction, textbooks, library materials and public school teachers in church and synagogue schools. The suit contends that this violates the First Amendment ban on church-state separation.
The New York State Constitutional Convention in Albany is considering a proposal to substitute the language of the First Amendment for Article XI, Section III of the New York constitution, popularly known as the Blaine Amendment, which bars use of state funds for religious schools.
The state convention also is considering a provision to be added to the state constitution which would specifically permit state taxpayers to test the use of state funds for such purposes.
Leo Pfeffer of New York, American Jewish Congress special counsel, who is serving as chief attorney for the seven taxpayers, proposed in the appeal filed here today that the Supreme Court bar the application of the 1923 Frothingham ruling to First Amendment cases. In asking the high court to rule on the right of taxpayers to sue in such cases, the plaintiffs declared that “the federal question presented by this appeal is substantial and of national importance.” The appeal was filed for consideration by the Supreme Court term starting in October.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
