Supreme Court of Texas

Texas' requirement that a private post-secondary school meet prescribed standards before it may call itself a "seminary" or use words like "degree", "associate", "bachelor", "master", and "doctor" - or their equivalents - to recognize attainment in religious education and training impermissibly intrudes upon religious freedom protected by the United States and Texas Constitutions.

Appellate Information

• Argued 01/05/2005
• Decided 08/31/2007
• Published 08/31/2007

Judges

• Justice HECHT announced the judgment of the Court and delivered the opinion for the Court with respect to Part I, in which Chief Justice JEFFERSON, Justice O'NEILL, Justice WAINWRIGHT, Justice BRISTER, Justice MEDINA, Justice GREEN, and Justice JOHNSON joined, and with respect to Part III-B, in which Chief Justice JEFFERSON, Justice O'NEILL, Justice BRISTER, Justice MEDINA, and Justice GREEN joined, and an opinion with respect to Parts II, III-A, and III-C, in which Justice O'NEILL, Justice BRISTER, and Justice MEDINA joined.

Court

• Supreme Court of Texas

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• J. Shelby Sharpe, Sharpe & Tillman, P.C., Fort Worth, Raul A. Gonzalez Jr., Law Office of Raul A. Gonzalez, Amalia Rodriguez Mendoza, Travis County District Clerk, Austin, Kelly J. Shackelford, Hiram S. Sasser III, Liberty Legal Institute, Plano, for Petitioner., Douglas Laycock, University of Texas School of Law, Patricia Valdreace Hayes, Austin,, Kathleen Ann Reilly Barrow, Whitaker, Chalk, Swindle & Sawyer, L.L.P., Fort Worth, for amicus curiae Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary., Trevor Boyd Hall, Cokinos, Bosien & Young, Arlington, for amicus curiae David Barton., Trevor Boyd Hall, Cokinos, Bosien & Young, Arlington, for amicus curiae for Wallbuilders., Patricia Valdreace Hayes, Austin, for amicus curiae Independent Colleges and Universities of Texas, Inc., Allan E. Parker, Texas Justice Foundation, San Antonio, for amicus curiae David Barton and Wallbuilders, The Indepenent Baptist College and International Bible Center., James J. S. Johnson, Dallas, for amicus curiae Texas Fellowship of Christian College Professors.


• For Appellees:
  
• Melanie Plowman Sarwal, Weil, Gothshal & Manges LLP, Greg Abbott, Barry Ross McBee, Office of the Attorney General, Jeffrey S. Boyd, Thompson & Knight LLP, Jeffrey L. Rose, Dan Morales, Toni Hunter, Gray & Becker, P.C., Paul Matula, Asst. Atty. Gen., Edward D. Burbach, Office of the Attorney General, Rafael Edward Cruz, Attorney General of Texas, Amy Warr, Alexander Dubose Jones & Townsend, LLP, Austin, Andy Taylor, Andy Taylor and Associates, P.C., Houston, for Respondent.