Chief Justice John Roberts holds a pivotal vote regarding the Supreme Court's decision on Oklahoma's first publicly funded religious charter school, amidst a divided court. While four conservatives support the charter school, the three liberal justices back a ruling against it due to First Amendment concerns. If Roberts sides with the liberals, it could lead to a 4-4 tie leaving the state decision upheld. Conversely, siding with conservatives may affirm previous decisions allowing public funding for religious entities, marking a significant moment in the church-state separation debate.
If Roberts sides with the liberals, the court would be tied 4-4, an outcome that would leave the state court decision in place, but would leave the issue unresolved nationally.
Charter schools are in every respect equivalent to regular public schools," Justice Elena Kagan said.
They're just saying, 'Don't treat us worse because we're religious.'" - Justice Brett Kavanaugh
Roberts wrote the last three of those decisions. He acknowledged at one point that the court had previously ruled that states "couldn't exclude religious participation.
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