Opinion ID: 155604
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: County’s Establishment Clause Defense

Text: The County argues that allowing Summum to erect its monolith on the courthouse lawn would amount to state endorsement of the Summum religion. In order to avoid an Establishment Clause violation, the County believes it was justified in denying Summum’s requests. The Supreme Court has recognized the potential conflict between competing First Amendment values in cases involving private religious speech on government property, and has made clear that “the interest of the State in avoiding an Establishment Clause violation ‘may be [a] compelling’ one justifying an abridgment of free speech otherwise protected by the First Amendment.” Lamb’s Chapel, 508 U.S. at 394 (quoting Widmar, 454 U.S. at 271). In the context of nonpublic or limited public fora, courts have consistently rejected the government’s assertions that the Establishment Clause raises concerns outweighing plaintiffs’ free speech rights. See, e.g., Rosenberger, 515 U.S. at 839-46; Lamb’s Chapel, 508 U.S. at 394-95; Grossbaum, 63 F.3d at 59495. The Supreme Court in Rosenberger made clear that the government’s “neutrality towards religion” is a “significant factor” in determining that the Establishment Clause has not been violated. Rosenberger, 515 U.S. at 839; see also Grossbaum, 63 F.3d at 595 (“[W]hen evaluating the viability of an Establishment Clause defense, Lamb’s Chapel suggests that an evenhanded, -32- neutral right of access is just as important in evaluating nonpublic or limited forums as it is in evaluating public forums.”); The Supreme Court--Leading Cases, supra, at 217 (noting that Rosenberger ignored Lemon test and “instead applied a more coherent neutrality analysis”). As we explained, in order to avoid an Establishment Clause violation, “[t]he government need only remain neutral, preferring neither religious nor secular expression over the other.” Church on the Rock, 84 F.3d at 1280 (citing Rosenberger, 515 U.S. at 839-40). Government neutrality is further apparent when “‘the government has not willfully fostered or encouraged’ any mistaken impression” that the private religious speech at issue speaks for the state, Rosenberger, 515 U.S. at 841 (quoting Capitol Square, 515 U.S. at 766), and “has taken pains to disassociate itself from the private speech,” id. Moreover, “the guarantee of neutrality is respected, not offended, when the government, following neutral criteria and evenhanded policies, extends benefits to recipients whose ideologies and viewpoints, including religious ones, are broad and diverse.” Id. at 839. Even if religion is benefitted incidentally, so long as the government treats religious and nonreligious speech evenhandedly and cannot be deemed to be sponsoring the religious activity, the government cannot plausibly argue that it is justified in denying private religious speech on public property because it fears the Establishment Clause will be offended. Capitol Square, 515 -33- U.S. at 762-63; Rosenberger, 515 U.S. at 839-40. Indeed, if the government denies access to private speech because of the religious viewpoint of the speaker, the denial itself “risk[s] fostering a pervasive bias or hostility to religion, which could undermine the very neutrality the Establishment Clause requires.” Id. at 845-46. The question here would be whether, by allowing Summum’s monolith on the courthouse lawn, the County would “remain neutral, preferring neither religious nor secular expression over the other.” Church on the Rock, 84 F.3d at 1280. Since we previously ruled in Anderson that the Ten Commandments monument is primarily secular expression, allowing Summum’s religious monolith on the courthouse lawn would arguably “respect” the Establishment Clause’s command of government neutrality by “extend[ing] benefits to recipients whose ideologies and viewpoints, including religious ones, are broad and diverse.” Rosenberger, 515 U.S. at 839. The County could also easily require a disclaimer to distance itself from Summum’s private religious speech. See Capitol Square, 515 U.S. at 769. Moreover, if it is determined that the County discriminated against Summum based on Summum’s religious viewpoint, it is highly unlikely the County could defend its actions on Establishment Clause grounds. See Rosenberger, 515 U.S. at 845 (“To obey the Establishment Clause, -34- it was not necessary for the University to deny eligibility to student publications because of their viewpoint.”).