West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette

Supreme Court of the United States
Argued: March 11, 1943
Decided: June 14, 1943
Full case name: West Virginia State Board of Education, et al. v. Walter Barnette, et al.
Holding: The Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment prohibits public schools from forcing students to salute the American flag and say the Pledge of Allegiance. United States District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia affirmed.
Court membership:
Chief Justice
Harlan F. Stone
Associate Justices
Owen Roberts · Hugo Black
Stanley F. Reed · Felix Frankfurter
William O. Douglas · Frank Murphy
Robert H. Jackson · Wiley B. Rutledge
Case opinions
Majority Jackson, joined by Stone, Black, Douglas, Murphy, Rutledge
Concurrence Black, Douglas
Concurrence Murphy
Dissent Frankfurter
Dissent Roberts, Reed
Laws applied
U.S. Const. amends. I, XIV; W. Va. Code § 1734 (1941)
This case overturned a previous ruling or rulings
Minersville School District v. Gobitis (1940)

West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette, 319 U.S. 624 (1943), is a landmark decision by the United States Supreme Court holding that the First Amendment protects students from being compelled to salute the American flag or say the Pledge of Allegiance in public schools.

Barnette overruled a 1940 decision on the same issue, Minersville School District v. Gobitis, in which the Supreme Court ruled that such laws were valid because they had been passed by elected legislators. The Barnette ruling was a significant victory for Jehovah's Witnesses, whose religion forbade them from saluting or pledging to symbols, including those of political institutions. The ruling is also influential for its focus on freedom of speech principles rather than freedom of religion.

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