{"id":1466,"date":"2011-11-01T14:19:15","date_gmt":"2011-11-01T18:19:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/faithandjustice\/?p=1466"},"modified":"2011-11-29T15:17:42","modified_gmt":"2011-11-29T20:17:42","slug":"jay-sekulow-constitutional-confusion-to-persist-after-scotus-rejects-utah-case","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/2011\/11\/jay-sekulow-constitutional-confusion-to-persist-after-scotus-rejects-utah-case.html","title":{"rendered":"Jay Sekulow: Constitutional Confusion to Persist After SCOTUS Rejects Utah Case"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
Roadside memorial cross honoring fallen Utah state troopers<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It is disappointing that the Supreme Court failed to take a very important case out of Utah<\/a> – a case involving the placement of crosses along Utah highways to commemorate the death of Utah Highway Patrol officers and a reminder to urge motorists to drive safely.<\/p>\n

This is a case that we’ve been involved in<\/a> for quite some time. And it’s the kind of issue we discuss<\/a> regularly.<\/p>\n

A federal appeals court determined these highway crosses were unconstitutional. The case was appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court and in May we filed an amicus brief in the case of Davenport v. American Atheists<\/em> asking the high court to take the case.<\/a><\/p>\n

Unfortunately, the Justices declined to take the case and the lower court decision – banning the placement of these commemorative crosses – remains in place.<\/p>\n

The Supreme Court missed a critical opportunity by refusing to hear this case. As Justice Clarence Thomas wrote in a 19-page dissent<\/a>, he said the court had rejected “an opportunity to provide clarity to an establishment-clause jurisprudence in shambles.”<\/p>\n

Justice Thomas<\/a>, who was the sole Justice in favor of hearing the case, said the high court’s own history with religious displays in public has “confounded the lower courts and rendered the constitutionality of displays of religious imagery on government property anyone’s guess.”<\/p>\n

Justice Thomas’s disappointment was clear:<\/a> “It is difficult to imagine an area of law more in need of clarity,” he wrote. “Respondents tell us there is no reason to think that a case with facts similar to this one will recur…but if that counsels against certiorari here, this Court will never again hear another case involving an Establishment Clause challenge to a religious display. It is this Court\u2019s precedent that has rendered even the most minute aesthetic details of a religious display relevant to the constitutional question. We should not now abdicate our responsibility to clean up our mess because these disputes, by our own making, are ‘factbound.'”<\/p>\n

As Justice Thomas concluded: “This suit… is as ripe a suit for certiorari as any.”<\/p>\n

We agree.<\/p>\n

The mere existence of a religious symbol in a public place need not trigger a constitutional crisis. The Supreme Court recently noted that the Constitution does not prohibit, but rather accommodates such symbols.<\/p>\n

In our amicus brief filed with the high court backing a Petition for a Writ of Certiorari, we contended the Utah crosses are constitutional and reflect what the high court decided in April 2010.<\/p>\n

As you may recall, in the case of Salazar, Secretary of the Interior, et al., v. Buono,<\/em> (08-472), the Supreme Court ruled<\/a>\u00a0that a World War I memorial in California\u2019s Mojave Desert that features a memorial cross can remain in place.\u00a0 A plurality opinion by Justice Anthony Kennedy observed:\u00a0 “A cross by the side of a public highway marking, for instance, the place where a state trooper perished need not be taken as a statement of governmental support for sectarian beliefs. The Constitution does not oblige government to avoid any public acknowledgment of religion\u2019s role in society. . . . Rather, it leaves room to accommodate divergent values within a constitutionally permissible framework.”<\/p>\n

By refusing to engage the Utah roadside cross case, it is hard to disagree with Justice Thomas’s assessment that there will be more questions than answers when it comes to clarifying the law regarding religious displays.<\/p>\n

As an attorney who has argued 12 cases before the high court<\/a>, I’m afraid we’re likely to see much more constitutional confusion ahead in this area of First Amendment law. Yes, it’s true that the Supreme Court doesn’t take many new cases, but this is one the Justices should have agreed to hear.<\/p>\n

Jay Sekulow<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It is disappointing that the Supreme Court failed to take a very important case out of Utah – a case involving the placement of crosses along Utah highways to commemorate the death of Utah Highway Patrol officers and a reminder to urge motorists to drive safely. This is a case that we’ve been involved in…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":401,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,8,66,74],"tags":[743,88,140,430,77,435,331,436],"class_list":["post-1466","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-justice","category-supreme-court","category-u-s-constitution","category-utah","tag-aclj","tag-amicus-brief","tag-atheists","tag-constitutional-display","tag-establishment-clause","tag-justice-thomas","tag-u-s-supreme-court","tag-utah-highway-crosses"],"yoast_head":"\nJay Sekulow: Constitutional Confusion to Persist After SCOTUS Rejects Utah Case - Faith & Justice<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/2011\/11\/jay-sekulow-constitutional-confusion-to-persist-after-scotus-rejects-utah-case.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Jay Sekulow: Constitutional Confusion to Persist After SCOTUS Rejects Utah Case - Faith & Justice\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"It is disappointing that the Supreme Court failed to take a very important case out of Utah – a case involving the placement of crosses along Utah highways to commemorate the death of Utah Highway Patrol officers and a reminder to urge motorists to drive safely. 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He is also Chief Counsel of the European Centre for Law and Justice (ECLJ). Jay Sekulow is one of the leading defenders of constitutional rights and religious liberties in the United States. Over the past 25 years, Jay Sekulow has amassed an unparalleled record of accomplishment, arguing before the U.S. Supreme Court on 12 occasions. His aggressive litigation strategy before the Supreme Court has led to many landmark First Amendment victories. In his first case before the Supreme Court, Jews for Jesus, Jay Sekulow secured the right of religious groups to pass out tracks in airports. In Mergens, Jay Sekulow successfully protected the right of students to form Bible clubs and prayer groups on public school campuses. In Lamb\u2019s Chapel, Jay Sekulow cleared the way for churches to have equal access to public facilities in the same way that other groups are permitted to utilize those facilities. In the Bray and Operation Rescue cases, Jay Sekulow protected the free speech rights of pro-life advocates to be free from criminal prosecution for conveying their pro-life message. In McConnell v. FEC, Jay Sekulow protected the right of young people to engage in the political process by donating to the campaign of their choice. In Pleasant Grove, Jay Sekulow paved the way for governments to be able to display Ten Commandments monuments, and other monuments of their choosing, in public parks. Through the ACLJ, Jay Sekulow engages the political, legal, and cultural battles facing America today. He routinely works with Members of Congress, advising them on proposed legislation and representing them in critical legal matters. Jay Sekulow has also testified before Congress on the constitutionality of proposed legislation. Also, in addition to being a successful Supreme Court advocate, Jay Sekulow is a highly respected broadcaster. Jay Sekulow is the host of Jay Sekulow Live! which airs each weekday on over 850 radio stations nationwide, in addition Sirius and XM satellite radio. He brings insight and education to listeners daily through this national call-in radio program. He is also the host of the ACLJ This Week, the ACLJ\u2019s weekly television program. Jay Sekulow regularly appears on major media outlets, including FOX News, CNN, ABC, CBS, and NBC, where he is sought out for his vast experience in constitutional law and his unique insight into many of the pressing legal and political issues facing America today. He is frequently quoted in the nation's leading newspapers and often contributes opinion editorials to national publications. Jay Sekulow has also published numerous law review and other scholarly articles. Jay Sekulow has received numerous honors for his groundbreaking legal work in the area of free speech and religious liberties. The Legal Times has named Sekulow one of \u201cThe 90 Greatest Washington Lawyers of the Last 30 Years\u201d and the National Law Journal has twice named Sekulow one of the \u201c100 Most Influential Lawyers\u201d in the United States. In addition, TIME Magazine listed Jay Sekulow as one of the \"25 Most Influential Evangelicals\" in America. Jay Sekulow\u2019s legal work in defense of religious liberties and human rights extends beyond the United States, having founded the ECLJ in Strasbourg, France, which maintains consultative status with the United Nations. He has also opened offices in Pakistan, Africa, and Jerusalem, Israel. Jay Sekulow is a staunch defender of Israel, presenting arguments before the International Criminal Court at the Hague. His efforts in support of Israel\u2019s right to defend itself from terrorist attacks have been commended by Israeli government officials, one official stating, \"Jay was instrumentally-involved in projects that the President of Israel and the Prime Minister put on our national agenda.\" Jay Sekulow also has a passion for educating the next generation of religious liberty advocates. He is a member of the Regent University Law School Faculty as a Distinguished Professor of Law and routinely teaches courses on constitutional law and presents guest lectures. Jay Sekulow has also started educational programs in international human rights law in Strasbourg, France and at Handong University in South Korea. Jay Sekulow is a graduate of Mercer University, earning both a bachelor\u2019s degree and doctor of jurisprudence. Sekulow served on the editorial staff of the Mercer Law Review and graduated cum laude. He later earned a Ph.D. from Regent University, writing his dissertation on American Legal History. Jay Sekulow also serves on the Board of Trustees for The Supreme Court Historical Society in Washington, D.C. Jay Sekulow, ACLJ Chief Counsels full biography and video. Jay Sekulow on Facebook. Jay Sekulow on Twitter. Jay Sekulow on YouTube.","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/author\/jay_sekulow"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1466","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/401"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1466"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1466\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1475,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1466\/revisions\/1475"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1466"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1466"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1466"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}