Trinity Lutheran Church of Columbia, Inc. v. Comer
United States Supreme Court
137 S. Ct. 2012 (2017)
Relevant factsFree
Missouri's Department of Natural Resources (defendant) denied Trinity Lutheran's (plaintiff) otherwise-qualifying playground-resurfacing grant application solely because it is a church, applying a categorical policy disqualifying all religious organizations based on the state constitution's antiestablishment provision; the lower courts dismissed the church's suit under Locke v. Davey.
IssueFree
Whether excepting churches from a grant program that provides public funds to resurface playgrounds violates the Free Exercise Clause.