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The Apostle, Mr. Justice Jackson, And The Pathological Perspective Of The Free Exercise Clause, Ronald J. Krotoszynski Jr.

Articles

The generally accepted interpretation of Justice William O. Douglas's majority opinion in United States v. Ballard, 322 U.S. 78 (1944), casts the case as a ringing defense of religious freedom in the United States; a trial court may not charge a jury with inquiring into the factual truth of a defendant's religious beliefs incident to a prosecution for criminal fraud. This interpretation of Ballard is, at least arguably, unduly generous. By permitting juries to inquire into a religious leader's subjective good faith belief in the tenets of the faith, the Ballard majority provides an insufficient shield against prosecutions based on …