With Talk of Sukkahs and Talmud Teachers, the Supreme Court Reconsiders a Fundamental First Amendment Principle

Last month, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in two cases where Catholic schools were being sued by former employees who claimed to have been unjustly fired. The schools argued that they were protected from such legal action by what is known in employment law as the “ministerial exception,” which states that, for example, a church can’t be sued for refusing to hire a Jew for the job of preacher. But since the two teachers were not ministers—even if they led students in prayer and taught religious subjects—the Ninth Circuit court of appeals had ruled that the exception didn’t apply in their case.