Shurtleff v. City Of Boston

142 S.Ct. 1583 (2022)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

There are three 83-foot flagpoles at the entrance of Boston City Hall. D flies the American flag from the first pole (along with a banner honoring prisoners of war and soldiers missing in action). From the second, it flies the flag of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. And from the third, it usually (but not always) flies D’s flag. D makes City Hall Plaza available to the public for events. D acknowledges that this means the plaza is a “public forum.” Since 2005, the city has allowed groups to hold flag-raising ceremonies on the plaza. Participants may hoist a flag of their choosing on the third flagpole (in place of the city’s flag) and fly it for the duration of the event, typically a couple of hours. The flags of other countries and also flags for Pride Week, emergency medical service workers, and a community bank have been flown. D approved about 50 unique flags, raised at 284 ceremonies. Boston has no record of refusing any request to fly a flag. P, the director of an organization called Camp Constitution, asked to hold a flag-raising event on City Hall Plaza. It was for the civic and social contributions of the Christian community and featured remarks by local clergy. P wished to raise what it described as the “Christian flag.” D refused. D worried that flying a religious flag at City Hall could violate the Constitution’s Establishment Clause. P sued D for violation of the First Amendment’s Free Speech Clause. The District Court denied the request for injunctive relief. Both parties filed cross-motions for summary judgment. The District Court held that flying private groups’ flags from City Hall’s third pole amounted to government speech. It granted summary judgment for D. The First Circuit affirmed. The Supreme court granted certiorari.