Shurtleff v. City of Boston

Shurtleff v. City of Boston
Shurtleff v. City of Boston
	Supreme Court of the United States
Argued January 18, 2022; Decided May 2, 2022
Full case name	Harold Shurtleff, et al. v. City of Boston, Massachusetts, et al.
Docket no.	20-1800
Citations	596 U.S. ___ (more)
Argument	Oral argument
Court membership
	Chief Justice John Roberts Associate Justices Clarence Thomas · Stephen Breyer; Samuel Alito · Sonia Sotomayor; Elena Kagan · Neil Gorsuch; Brett Kavanaugh · Amy Coney Barrett
Case opinions
Majority	Breyer, joined by Roberts, Sotomayor, Kagan, Kavanaugh, Barrett
Concurrence	Kavanaugh
Concurrence	Alito (in judgment), joined by Thomas, Gorsuch
Concurrence	Gorsuch (in judgment), joined by Thomas
Laws applied
	U.S. Const. amend. I

Shurtleff v. City of Boston, 596 U.S. ___ (2022), was a United States Supreme Court case related to the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.

Background

Boston, Massachusetts allows groups to have their flags flown over Boston City Hall. A Christian group, Camp Constitution, sought to have the city fly a Christian flag. Camp Constitution and its director Hal Shurtleff teach that the United States was created as a "Christian nation." After the city denied their application, the first denial of more than a few hundred applications, Shurtleff sued.

The city prevailed in the district court and the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, and Shurtleff appealed to the Supreme Court.[1]

Supreme Court

Certiorari was granted in the case on September 30, 2021.[1] On May 2, 2022, the Court unanimously ruled that the City of Boston violated the First Amendment by denying Shurtleff's application to fly the flag.[2][3]

Reactions

The Joe Biden administration and the American Civil Liberties Union sided with the Christian group. The administration said that "The city cannot generally open its flagpole to flags from private civic and social groups while excluding otherwise similar groups with religious views".[4]

References

Howe, Amy (September 30, 2021). "Justices add five new cases to their docket from "long conference," including Cruz campaign case". SCOTUSblog. Retrieved September 30, 2021.
Hausle, Dan (May 2, 2022). "Supreme Court rules against Boston in Christian flag case". WHDH.com. WHDH-TV. Associated Press. Retrieved May 2, 2022.
Ellement, John R.; Lotan, Gal Tziperman (May 2, 2022). "Supreme Court rules Boston violated First Amendment rights by refusing to fly Christian flag at City Hall Plaza". BostonGlobe.com. The Boston Globe. Retrieved May 2, 2022.
Liptak, Adam (May 2, 2022). "Supreme Court Rules Against Boston in Case on Christian Flag". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 2, 2022.

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[:0-1] Howe, Amy (September 30, 2021). "Justices add five new cases to their docket from "long conference," including Cruz campaign case". SCOTUSblog. Retrieved September 30, 2021.

[2] Hausle, Dan (May 2, 2022). "Supreme Court rules against Boston in Christian flag case". WHDH.com. WHDH-TV. Associated Press. Retrieved May 2, 2022.

[3] Ellement, John R.; Lotan, Gal Tziperman (May 2, 2022). "Supreme Court rules Boston violated First Amendment rights by refusing to fly Christian flag at City Hall Plaza". BostonGlobe.com. The Boston Globe. Retrieved May 2, 2022.

[4] Liptak, Adam (May 2, 2022). "Supreme Court Rules Against Boston in Case on Christian Flag". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 2, 2022.