(2004-02-26) — The U.S. Supreme Court ruled today that state scholarship funds may be denied to students pursuing careers in journalism.

The decision follows yesterday’s 7-2 ruling (Locke v. Davey) allowing Washington to prohibit disbursement of state scholarship money to a student who was aiming for a devotional theology degree — in other words, training for vocational ministry.

Today’s decision, like yesterday’s, hinges on the First Amendment of the Constitution which states, in part: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press…”

Writing for the majority, Chief Justice William Rehnquist explained the connection between the two rulings: “Just as a state is not compelled to pay tuition for a ministry student because it might violate the Establishment clause of the First Amendment, so the state may deny tuition to those pursuing a life of vocational journalism, since such funding would create de jure state-sponsored journalists, beholden to the government and therefore incapable of participating in a truly free press. We must maintain the principle of the separation of the press and state.”

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