{"ID":54521,"name":"City of Boerne v. Flores","href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/cases\/1996\/95-2074","view_count":0,"docket_number":"95-2074","additional_docket_numbers":null,"manner_of_jurisdiction":"Writ of \u003Ci\u003Ecertiorari\u003C\/i\u003E","first_party":"City of Boerne","second_party":"Flores","timeline":[{"event":"Argued","dates":[856332000],"href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/case_timeline\/case_timeline\/37836"},{"event":"Decided","dates":[867214800],"href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/case_timeline\/case_timeline\/37837"}],"lower_court":{"ID":10,"name":"United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit","href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/taxonomy\/term\/10"},"facts_of_the_case":"\u003Cp\u003EThe Archbishop of San Antonio sued local zoning authorities for violating his rights under the 1993 Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), when they denied him a permit to expand his church in Boerne, Texas. Boerne\u0027s zoning authorities argued that the Archbishop\u0027s church was located in a historic preservation district governed by an ordinance forbidding new construction, and that the RFRA was unconstitutional insofar as it sought to override this local preservation ordinance. On appeal from the Fifth Circuit\u0027s reversal of a district court\u0027s finding against Archbishop Flores, the Court granted Boerne\u0027s petition for certiorari.\u003C\/p\u003E\n","question":"\u003Cp\u003EDid Congress exceed its Fourteenth Amendment enforcement powers by enacting the RFRA which, in part, subjected local ordinances to federal regulation?\u003C\/p\u003E\n","conclusion":"\u003Cp\u003EThe Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) of 1993 exceeded Congress\u0027s enforcement powers under Section 5 of the Fourteenth Amendment. Writing for the majority, Justice Anthony Kennedy explained that RFRA imposed an overly strict standard\u2014requiring laws to serve a \u0022compelling government interest\u0022 and be the \u0022least restrictive means\u0022 of furthering that interest\u2014for evaluating laws that burdened religious exercise. That standard was inconsistent with the Court\u0027s precedent regarding the proper balance between religious freedom and governmental interests. While Congress may remedy and prevent constitutional violations, it cannot redefine the scope of constitutional rights or their limitations under the guise of enforcing the Fourteenth Amendment.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u00a0\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe Fourteenth Amendment prohibits states from depriving individuals of \u0022life, liberty, or property, without due process of law\u0022 or denying them \u0022equal protection of the laws.\u0022 Section 5 grants Congress the power to enforce these provisions through \u0022appropriate legislation.\u0022 Notably, Section 5 does not give Congress the authority to create new constitutional rights or change the substance of the Fourteenth Amendment\u0027s guarantees. Rather, it allows Congress to enact laws that remedy or prevent constitutional violations.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ETo be a valid exercise of Section 5 power, a law must be \u0022congruent and proportional\u0022 to the constitutional injury it seeks to address. RFRA failed this test because it was not tailored to address any specific unconstitutional conduct by the states. Instead, RFRA broadly prohibited state laws that substantially burdened religious exercise, even if those laws were neutral and generally applicable. Thus, this broad prohibition was out of proportion to the relatively rare constitutional violations Congress had identified in the legislative record.\u00a0This holding reaffirmed the Court\u0027s role as the ultimate interpreter of the Constitution and placed important limits on Congress\u0027s power to regulate the states under the Fourteenth Amendment.\u003C\/p\u003E\n","advocates":[{"advocate":{"ID":33001,"name":"Jeffrey S. 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