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CHURCH OF THE LUKUMI BABALU AYE, INC. AND ERNESTO PICHARDO, PETITIONERS v. CITY OF HIALEAH

No. 91-948

SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES

508 U.S. 520; 113 S. Ct. 2217; 124 L. Ed. 2d 472; 1993 U.S. LEXIS 4022; 61 U.S.L.W. 4587; 93 Cal. Daily Op. Service 4295; 93 Daily Journal DAR 7368; 7 Fla. L. Weekly Fed. S 393

November 4, 1992, Argued

June 11, 1993, Decided

PRIOR HISTORY: ON WRIT OF CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT.

DISPOSITION: 936 F. 2d 586, reversed.

Case in Brief

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CASE SUMMARY

PROCEDURAL POSTURE: Petitioners, a church and its president, appealed a decision of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit which affirmed a finding in favor of respondent city in an action filed pursuant to 42 U.S.C.S. § 1983 alleging violations of petitioners' rights under U.S. Const., amend. I. |

OVERVIEW: Petitioners, church and its president, applied for and received licensing, inspection and zoning approvals to establish a church including a ritual of animal sacrifice from respondent city. In response, an emergency public session of respondent's city council was held and ordinances were passed which prohibited animal sacrifice. Petitioners filed an action pursuant to 42 U.S.C.S. § 1983 alleging that their rights under the Free Exercise Clause, U.S. Const., amend. I, were violated. The trial court ruled for respondent finding no constitutional violations. The appellate court affirmed. The United States Supreme Court reversed the judgment, holding that the ordinances were unconstitutional. It found that they were not neutral nor of general application, therefore it applied a strict scrutiny analysis. The Court determined that the governmental interests were not compelling, the ordinances were not drawn in narrow terms, and...