The case was unanimously decided in favor of the appellants, and declared that the use of the King James Bible in Edgerton public schools was unconstitutional sectarian education.

In the early days of Edgerton, Wisconsin, it was common practice for public school teachers to read aloud to their students from the King James Bible.

In 1886, Roman Catholic parents protested about that to the school board, citing their belief that the Douay version of the Bible was the only correct translation for their children.

[1] After failing to convince the school board to end the practice, the parents—Frederick Weiss, W. H. Morrissey, Thomas Mooney, James McBride, J. C. Burns, and John Corbett—took their case to court.

In November 1888, the circuit court judge, John R. Bennett, decided that the readings were not sectarian because both translations were of the same work.