Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/19pdf/18-1195_g314.pdf
Page Number: 36

2 

ESPINOZA v. MONTANA DEPT. OF REVENUE 

ALITO, J., concurring 

circumstances in later years.”  Id., at ___ (slip op., at 3).  But 
I lost, and Ramos is now precedent.  If the original motiva-
tion for the laws mattered there, it certainly matters here. 
The origin of Montana’s “no-aid” provision, Mont. Const.,
Art. X, §6(1) (1972), is emphasized in petitioners’ brief and 
in the briefs of numerous supporting amici.  See Brief for 
Petitioners 31–45; Brief for United States as Amicus Curiae 
1–2, 25; Brief for Center for Constitutional Jurisprudence 
as Amicus Curiae 10–12; Brief for Pioneer Institute, Inc., as 
Amicus Curiae 5–17; Brief for Cato Institute as Amicus Cu-
riae 2; Brief for State of Oklahoma et al. as Amici Curiae 
16;  Brief  for  Montana  Catholic  School  Parents  et al.  as 
Amici Curiae  21–25; Brief for Senator Steve Daines et al. 
as Amici Curiae 1–27 (Sen. Daines Brief ); Brief for Becket 
Fund for Religious Liberty as Amicus Curiae 4–20 (Becket
Fund Brief ); Brief for the Rutherford Institute as Amicus 
Curiae 2–10; Brief for Georgia Goal Scholarship Program, 
Inc., as Amicus Curiae 1–5, 16–21; Brief for Liberty Justice
Center et al. as Amici Curiae 16–17; Brief for Alliance for 
Choice in Education as Amicus Curiae 4–8; Brief for Inde-
pendence  Institute  as  Amicus  Curiae  4–26  (Independence 
Institute  Brief );  Brief  for  Jewish  Coalition  for  Religious 
Liberty as Amicus Curiae 1–5; Brief for Rusty Bowers et al. 
as Amici Curiae 8–9; Brief for Center for Education Reform 
et al. as Amici Curiae 21–27 (CER Brief ); Brief for Montana
Family  Foundation  as  Amicus  Curiae  9–13;  Brief  for  Ari-
zona Christian School Tuition Organization et al. as Amici 
Curiae 14–22; Brief for Justice and Freedom Fund et al. as 
Amici  Curiae  22–23;  Brief  for  131  Current  and  Former 
State Legislators as Amici Curiae 2–10. 

These  briefs,  most  of  which  were  not  filed  by  organiza-
tions  affiliated  with  the  Catholic  Church,  point  out  that 
Montana’s  provision  was  modeled  on  the  failed  Blaine 
Amendment  to  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States. 
Named after House Speaker  James Blaine, the Congress-
man  who  introduced  it  in  1875,  the  amendment  was