The Supreme Court on Monday ruled the city of Boston violated a man's First Amendment rights when it said he could not raise a Christian flag in front of City Hall, despite allowing other groups from the community to raise secular flags.
In a unanimous opinion written by Justice Stephen Breyer, the high court ruled that while the case held religious undertones, the case was ultimately about free speech rights. Justices argued the city created a public forum open to anyone to participate when it allowed organizations to use a flagpole in front of City Hall for commemorative purposes.
"Indeed, the city’s practice was to approve flag raisings without exception — that is, until petitioners’ request," Breyer wrote. He said "at the time" of the request, "Boston had no written policies or clear internal guidance about what flags groups could fly and what those flags would communicate."
SUPREME COURT REVIEWS CASE OVER BOSTON'S REFUSAL TO FLY CHRISTIAN FLAG AT CITY HALL
In concurrence with Breyer's opinion, Justice Brett Kavanaugh said the case arose due to government officials misunderstanding the Establishment Clause.
The city believed it would have violated the Constitution if it allowed a "religious flag to briefly fly outside of City Hall as part of the flag-raising program that the City had opened to the public," Kavanaugh wrote. "So Boston granted requests to fly a variety of secular flags, but denied a request to fly a religious flag."
The ruling marked a victory for a religious group called Camp Constitution and its founder, Harold Shurtleff. He previously applied and was denied by the city to use one of its three flagpoles in front of the government building in Massachusetts.
Shurtleff sued after the city turned down his request to fly the flag. Boston argued the flag would be an expression of the city's views and would constitute a government endorsement of religion.
But the Supreme Court argued the city's method of allowing private groups to display flags could not constitute a reason sufficient to censor a religious message in what ultimately amounted to a type of public forum.
"Boston’s control is therefore not comparable to the degree of government involvement in the selection of park monuments ... or license plate designs," Breyer wrote.
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Boston placed its flag-raising program on hold in October for reevaluation "in light of the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision to consider whether the program as currently operated complies with Constitutional requirements," according to a government webpage.
A spokesperson from the city said the court's ruling is being reviewed. "As we consider next steps, we will ensure that future City of Boston programs are aligned with this decision," a spokesperson for Mayor Michelle Wu told the Washington Examiner.