The Court's shrinking caseload has disappointed First Amendment followers in recent years with a dearth of cases invoking the five freedoms. Recent activity suggests otherwise. In addition to the Bong Hits 4 Jesus case, the Supreme Court earlier heard a case involving union dues as a form of political speech, and on Friday granted cert to a case considering taxpayer standing to file suit when one feels executive action violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.
One must typically show harm to file suit against a given law, but the Supreme Court made an exception to this in 1968 when it comes to the Establishment Clause. One's status as a taxpayer was deemed sufficient. The case involves the constitutionality of Bush's faith-based initiatives, and while it does not directly interpret the Establishment Clause, a ruling favorable to the executive could open the door for a more direct relationship between church and state by curtailing citizen lawsuits.
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