Legal Brief Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Legal Brief - Essay Example (US Constitution, 1st Amendment) Art 1 of the New Jersey Constitution 1947 likewise forbids the â€Å"establishment of one religious sect in preference to another.† (New Jersey Constitution 1947, Article 1) Article 1 also forbids requiring a â€Å"religious or racial test†¦as a qualification for any office or public trust.† (New Jersey Constitution 1947, Article 1) The main issue with respect to these provisions was whether or not the New Jersey public school district’s educational policy as practiced with the display of secular and non-secular holidays on its school calenders offended these Establishment Clauses. Preliminary issues resolved before proceeding with the main issue included standing and ripeness. In other words the defendant School Board challenged the various defendant’s rights to pursue the action and whether or not the action contained a triable issue under the Constitutional clauses it was brought under. On the preliminary issues the court ruled that the since the educational policy had already been instituted the Constitutional issue was triable and therefore the action contained the necessary ripeness for adjudication. (Clever v Cherry Hill Board of Education, 1993) As for the issue of standing the court ruled that parents of children who were students in the school district had perhaps the greatest interests in the adjudication of the issues than anyone else. The parents would therefore remain parties to the aciton. (Clever v Cherry Hill Board of Education, 1993) The plaintiff Clever would also survive the challenge to standing since the court found that he had property in the area and was a taxpayer. Clever’s tax money was used to fund the school district thereby giving him an interest in the educational policy currently before the court. (Clever v Cherry Hill Board of Education, 1993) â€Å"Christmas and Chanukah are celebrated as cultural and national holidays