Case Categories: Blue Laws and Religious Freedom

This is a list of significant court cases related to blue laws and religious freedom. The establishment clause of the First Amendment prohibits any law “respecting the establishment of religion.” By designating Sunday as a Sabbath and by restricting activities of individuals on that day, states with Sunday blue laws have arguably favored Christianity over religions that celebrate different Sabbaths. Litigation over blue laws were common throughout the 19th century and into the 20th century.

• Braunfeld v. Brown (1961)

  Braunfeld v. Brown (1961) ruled that a state law that required retail businesses to close on Sunday did not violate the First Amendment’s free exercise clause...

• Commonwealth v. Wolf (Penn. Supreme Court) (1817)

  In 1817, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court upheld a fine against a Jewish man who worked on a Sunday in violation of the state's law prohibiting work on the...

• Ex Parte Newman (Calif. Supreme Court) (1858)

  In Ex Parte Newman, the California Supreme Court in 1858 issued what is believed to be the only 19th-century case in the U.S. that overturned a law designed to...

• Gallagher v. Crown Kosher Super Market of Massachusetts (1961)

  A Massachusetts law required supermarkets to remain closed on Sundays. A kosher supermarket appealed the law, but the court ruled that the law was...

• Hennington v. Georgia (1896)

  Hennington v. Georgia (1896) upheld a state law forbidding trains from running on Sundays. Later "Sunday blue laws" were challenged on First Amendment grounds...

• McGowan v. Maryland (1961)

  In McGowan v. Maryland (1961) the Court found that the law limiting business operations on Sundays did not violate the establishment clause of the First...

• Two Guys from Harrison- Allentown, Inc. v. McGinley (1961)

  Two Guys from Harrison-Allentown, Inc. v. McGinley (1960) ruled that Sunday blue laws did not violate the the establishment clause of the First Amendment...