<P> The Court heard oral arguments on 25 April . Joseph Rutherford, president of the Watch Tower Society, and himself a lawyer, took over the defense, assisted by the new head of the religious group's Legal Department, Hayden Covington . The ACLU and the Committee on the Bill of Rights of the American Bar Association filed amicus curiae briefs . </P> <P> The Court's decision was nearly unanimous; only Justice Harlan F. Stone dissented . In an 8 - to - 1 decision, the Court upheld the mandatory flag salute, declining to make itself "the school board for the country ." </P> <P> Justice Felix Frankfurter wrote the majority decision; in doing so, he relied primarily on the "secular regulation" rule, which weighs the secular purpose of a nonreligious government regulation against the religious practice it makes illegal or otherwise burdens the exercise of religion . He identified the Pennsylvania flag - salute requirement as an intrinsically secular policy enacted to encourage patriotism among school children . </P> <P> Frankfurter wrote that the school district's interest in creating national unity was enough to allow them to require students to salute the flag . According to Frankfurter, the nation needed loyalty and the unity of all the people . Since saluting the flag was a primary means of achieving this legitimate goal, an issue of national importance was at stake . </P>

What function according to the supreme court did the flag salute serve