First Unitarian Church of Los Angeles v. County of Los Angeles/Dissent Clark

by Tom C. Clark

United States Supreme Court

357 U.S. 545

First Unitarian Church of Los Angeles  v.  County of Los Angeles

 Argued: April 8, 1958. --- Decided: June 30, 1958

Mr. Justice CLARK, dissenting.

For the reasons stated in my dissenting opinion in No. 483, Speiser v. Randall, and No. 484, Prince v. City and County of San Francisco, 357 U.S. 513, 78 S.Ct. 1332, I cannot agree either that California law imposes the burden which the Court considers here, or that such a burden in any event would cause the procedure established by § 32 of the California Revenue and Taxation Code to violate the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Again for reasons stated in my dissenting opinion in Speiser and Prince, supra, I find no violation of the constitutional right to freedom of speech.

The majority notes the further contention here that freedom of religion is abridged, but has no occasion to consider it. The California court found that no tenet of petitioners' respective religions embraces the activity which is the subject of the state provisions. Nor does it appear that such activity can be characterized as religious in nature. Cf. Davis v. Beason, 1890, 133 U.S. 333, 10 S.Ct. 299, 33 L.Ed. 637; Reynolds v. United States, 1878, 98 U.S. 145, 25 L.Ed. 244. I would affirm.

For concurring opinion of Mr. Justice BLACK, with whom Mr. Justice DOUGLAS, joins see 357 U.S. 513, 78 S.Ct. 1352.

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