Torcaso v. Watkins
| Torcaso v. Watkins | |
|---|---|
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| Argued April 24, 1961 Decided June 19, 1961 |
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| Full case name | Torcaso v. Watkins, Clerk |
| Citations | 367 U.S. 488 (more)
81 S.Ct. 1680, 6 L.Ed.2d 982
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| Prior history | Judgment for respondent, Circuit Court for Montgomery County, Maryland; Judgment affirmed, Court of Appeals of Maryland, 223 Md. 49, 162 A. 2d 438 (1960) |
| Subsequent history | Reversed and remanded |
| Holding | |
| State governments cannot require a religious test for public office. | |
| Court membership | |
| Case opinions | |
| Majority | Black, joined by Warren, Douglas, Clark, Brennan, Whittaker, Stewart |
| Concurrence | Frankfurter (in the result, no opinion) |
| Concurrence | Harlan (in the result, no opinion) |
| Laws applied | |
| U.S. Constitution Amendments I, XIV | |
Torcaso v. Watkins, 367 U.S. 488 (1961) was a United States Supreme Court case in which the court reaffirmed that the United States Constitution prohibits States and the Federal Government from requiring any kind of religious test for public office, in the specific case, as a notary public.
In the early 1960s, the Governor of Maryland appointed Roy Torcaso (November 13, 1910 – June 9, 2007) as a notary public. At the time, the Constitution of Maryland required "a declaration of belief in the existence of God" in order for a person to hold "any office of profit or trust in this State".
Torcaso, an atheist, refused to make such a statement, and his appointment was consequently revoked. Torcaso, believing his constitutional rights to freedom of religious expression had been infringed, filed suit in a Maryland Circuit Court, only to be rebuffed. The Circuit Court rejected his claim, and the Maryland Court of Appeals held that the requirement in the Maryland Constitution for a declaration of belief in God as a qualification for office was self-executing and did not require any implementing legislation to be enacted by the state legislature.
The Court of Appeals justified its decision thus:
The petitioner is not compelled to believe or disbelieve, under threat of punishment or other compulsion. True, unless he makes the declaration of belief, he cannot hold public office in Maryland, but he is not compelled to hold office.
Torcaso took the matter to the United States Supreme Court, where it was heard on April 24, 1961.
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