Note:
Bertrand Fry, Breeding Constitutional Doctrine: The Provenance and Progeny of the “Hybrid Situation” in Current Free Exercise Jurisprudence, 71 TEXAS L. REV. 833 (1993).
 

Abstract:
The note explores the origin of the ‘hybrid situation’ doctrine in free exercise jurisprudence, first considering its role and explication in Employment Division, Department of Human Resources v. Smith and later exploring possible implications. Smith changes the law by sending the unambiguous message that free exercise claims should rarely meet success. Nonetheless, the doctrine remains tessellated, leaving potential litigants at a loss regarding how their claims may be adjudicated. The note does not suggest that Smith is a precursor to religious prosecution, but bemoans its incoherent application and its inuring majority religions from the problems of their minority counterparts, even as it admires its sophistical brilliance.