United States Ninth Circuit

In an Establishment Clause challenge to a state income tax credit for organizations that award scholarships, on the ground that the credit encouraged scholarships to religious schools, the dismissal of the complaint is reversed where Plaintiffs adequately alleged that the legislature's motives in enacting the program were suspect.

Appellate Information

• Argued 01/24/2008
• Decided 04/21/2009
• Published 04/21/2009

Judges

• Before:  D.W. NELSON, STEPHEN REINHARDT, and RAYMOND C. FISHER, Circuit Judges.

Court

• United States Ninth Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Marvin S. Cohen (argued), Sacks Tierney, P.A., Scottsdale, AZ;  Paul Bender, Arizona State University College of Law, Tempe, AZ;  and Isabel M. Humphrey, Three Gateway, Phoenix, AZ, for the plaintiffs-appellants.


• For Appellees:
  
• Terry Goddard, Arizona Attorney General, and Paula S. Bickett (argued), Phoenix, AZ, for the defendants-appellees., Timothy D. Keller (argued) and Clint Bolick, Institute for Justice, Phoenix, AZ;  and Richard D. Komer, Institute for Justice, Washington, D.C., for intervenors-defendants-appellees, Arizona School Choice Trust, Glenn Dennard and Luis Moscoso., Benjamin W. Bull, Gary S. McCaleb, Jeremy D. Tedesco, Alliance Defense Fund, Scottsdale, AZ, for intervenor-defendant-appellee, Arizona Christian School Tuition Organization.