Pleasant Grove City, Utah et al. v. Summum (555 U.S. 460)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided February 25, 2009 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 555 U.S. 460 · 129 S. Ct. 1125
- Decided
- February 25, 2009
- Term
- October Term 2008
- Vote
- 9–0
- Majority author
- Justice Alito
- Issue area
- First Amendment
- Disposition
- Reversed
- Outcome
- Petitioning party won
- Ideological direction
- Conservative
Opinion excerpt
Justice Alito delivered the opinion of the Court. This case presents the question whether the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment entitles a private group to insist that a municipality permit it to place a permanent monument in a city park in which other donated monuments were previously erected. The Court of Appeals held that the municipality was required to accept the monument because a public park is a traditional public forum. We conclude, however, that although a park is a traditional public forum for speeches and other transitory expressive acts, the display of a permanent monument in a public park is not a form of expression to which forum analysis applies. Instead, the placement of a permanent monument in a public park is best viewed as a form of government speech and is therefore not subject to scrutiny under the Free Speech Clause. I A Pioneer Park (or Park) is a 2.5-acre public park located in the Historic District of Pleasant Grove City (or City) in Utah. The Park currently contains 15 permanent displays, at least 11 of which were donated by private groups or individuals. These include a historic granary, a wishing well, the City’s first fire station, a September 11 monument, and a Ten Commandments monument donated by the Fraternal Order of Eagles in 1971. Respondent Summum is a religious organization founded in 1975 and headquartered in Salt Lake City,…
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