Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/20pdf/19-123_g3bi.pdf
Page Number: 95

Cite as:  593 U. S. ____ (2021) 

73 

ALITO, J., concurring in judgment
ALITO, J., concurring in judgment 

Indeed, even if more substantial reliance could be shown, 
Smith’s dubious standing would weigh against giving this
factor  too  much  weight.    Smith  has  been  embattled  since 
the day it was decided, and calls for its reexamination have 
intensified in recent years.  See Masterpiece Cakeshop, 584 
U. S., at ___ (GORSUCH, J., joined by ALITO, J., concurring)
(slip  op.,  at  1);  Kennedy,  586  U. S.,  at  ___–___  (ALITO,  J., 
joined by THOMAS, GORSUCH, and KAVANAUGH, JJ., concur-
ring in denial of certiorari) (slip op., at 5–6); City of Boerne 
521  U. S.,  at  566    (BREYER,  J.,  dissenting)  (“[T]he  Court
should  direct  the  parties  to  brief  the  question  whether 
[Smith]  was  correctly  decided”);  id.,  at  565  (O’Connor,  J., 
joined by BREYER, J., dissenting) (“[I]t is essential for the 
Court  to  reconsider  its  holding  in  Smith”);  Lukumi,  508 
U. S., at 559 (Souter, J., concurring in part and concurring 
in judgment) (“[I]n a case presenting the issue, the Court
should reexamine the rule Smith declared”).  Thus, parties
have  long  been  on  notice  that  the  decision  might  soon  be 
reconsidered.  See Janus, 585 U. S., at ___ (slip op., at 45). 

* 

* 
Smith was wrongly decided.  As long as it remains on the
books, it threatens a fundamental freedom.  And while prec-
edent should not lightly be cast aside, the Court’s error in 
Smith should now be corrected. 

* 

VI 
A 
If Smith is overruled, what legal standard should be ap-
plied in this case?  The answer that comes most readily to
mind is the standard that Smith replaced: A law that im-
poses a substantial burden on religious exercise can be sus-
tained only if it is narrowly tailored to serve a compelling 
government interest. 

Whether this test should be rephrased or supplemented
with specific rules is a question that need not be resolved