City of Boerne v. Flores

The Court struck down the Religious Freedom Restoration Act as applied to states, asserting judicial authority over constitutional interpretation.

Overview

Congress enacted RFRA in 1993 to restore strict scrutiny for neutral laws burdening religion after Smith rejected such exemptions. A Texas church challenged a local historic landmark denial. Justice Kennedy, for a 6-3 majority, held that RFRA exceeded congressional enforcement power under the Fourteenth Amendment, since Congress may enforce constitutional rights as interpreted by the Court, not redefine their substance. Boerne established the congruence and proportionality test for enforcement legislation and formally claimed judicial supremacy in constitutional meaning. States responded by adopting their own mini-RFRAs, now numbering at least half the states.