Supreme Court won't review ruling that Metro can ban religious advertising [View all]
Source: Washington Post
Courts & Law
Supreme Court won't review ruling that Metro can ban religious advertising
By Robert Barnes
April 6, 2020 at 10:00 a.m. EDT
The Supreme Court will not take up a lower court's decision that Washington's Metro system did not violate the First Amendment by banning religious advertising.
The court on Monday passed on reviewing a decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit that upheld the ban on religious messages on buses and trains and in stations as lawful and free from discrimination.
Two justices said the lower-court decision was wrong. But because Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh was recused after earlier work on the case, "it makes a poor candidate for our review," wrote Justice Neil M. Gorsuch, who was joined by Justice Clarence Thomas.
Nonetheless, he wrote, "The First Amendment requires governments to protect religious viewpoints, not single them out for silencing."
The WMATA system was sued by the Archdiocese of Washington for rejecting a proposed advertisement around Christmas 2017. The planned "Find the Perfect Gift" ads featured a biblical Christmas scene and a link to a website that encouraged people to attend Mass or donate to a Catholic charitable group.
{snip}
The case is Archdiocese of Washington v. WMATA. https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/19pdf/18-1455_9h68.pdf
Ann E. Marimow contributed to this story.
Robert Barnes has been a Washington Post reporter and editor since 1987. He joined The Post to cover Maryland politics, and he has served in various editing positions, including metropolitan editor and national political editor. He has covered the Supreme Court since November 2006. Follow https://twitter.com/scotusreporter
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You'd think that in DC, of all places, anything would go. I'm pretty sure I could handle religious advertising, and I think my fellow passengers -- back when I had fellow passengers -- could handle this too.
Hat tip, Joe.My.God:
SCOTUS: No Religious Ads On DC's Metro System
April 6, 2020
https://www.joemygod.com/2020/04/scotus-no-religious-ads-on-dcs-metro-system/
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Supreme Court won't review ruling that Metro can ban religious advertising
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