United States Supreme Court, Shurtleff et al. v. City of Boston et al., No. 20-1800, 596 U. S.____(2022), 2 May 2022

Raising of religious flags on public buildings and freedom of expression.

First Amendment, Constitution of the United States

1. A holistic inquiry aimed to determine whether a government intends to speak for itself or to regulate private expression includes several types of evidence, such as the history of the expression at issue; the public’s likely perception as to who (the government or a private person) is speaking; and the extent to which the government has actively shaped or controlled the expression.

2. When the raising and flying of private groups’ flags does not constitute a form of government speech, the refusal to let a private group raise their flags based on its religious viewpoints abridges its freedom of speech.

3. When the government does not speak for itself, it may not exclude private speech based on religious viewpoint. Doing so constitutes impermissible viewpoint discrimination.
(In the present case, the Supreme Court unanimously held that the refusal for a group of private citizens to temporarily raise a Christian flag on Boston City Hall during a celebratory event allowed by the City Hall itself infringes the First Amendment’s Free Speech Clause).