Society of Separationists, Inc. v. Herman

This case is the second of two related actions involving Robin Murray-O'Hair (co-plaintiff), an atheist who refused to swear a state-mandated juror's oath that referred to God. Texas law allowed Murray-O'Hair to make an alternative affirmation containing no religious references, but she refused to do so because she believed it, too, had religious connotations. Judge Guy Herman (defendant) sanctioned Murray-O'Hair for her refusal, and barred her from sitting on the jury. In the first action, Murray-O'Hair sued the Texas attorney general and Herman's court, but not Herman personally. A federal judge dismissed the action, ruling that Murray-O'Hair had no constitutional right to sit on a jury. The judge also opined that Texas did not violate the First Amendment's Establishment Clause, because a juror could either swear an oath or make a nonreligious affirmation. On appeal, the United States Court of the Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed the district court. Then, Murray-O'Hair and the Society of Separationists, Inc. (co-plaintiff) brought this second action, accusing Herman (defendant) of violating the First Amendment's Free Exercise Clause. The district judge entered judgment in favor of Herman. Murray-O'Hair and the Society appealed to the Fifth Circuit. As a threshold issue, the Fifth Circuit considered whether the doctrine of stare decisis meant that the dismissal of the first action required dismissal of the second action.