Board of Trustees of the Village of Scarsdale, et al. v. Kathleen S. McCreary, et al.
Docket nos.
84-277
Citations
471 U.S. 83 (more)
105 S. Ct. 1859; 85 L. Ed. 2d 63; 1985 U.S. LEXIS 194
Argument
Oral argument
Opinion announcement
Opinion announcement
Prior history
McCreary v. Stone, 575 F. Supp. 1112 (S.D.N.Y. 1983); 739 F.2d 716 (2d Cir. 1984)
Holding
Judgement of the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit is affirmed as per an evenly split Court. Due to ambiguity in the lower court's decision, it is unclear whether the Village is obliged to display a privately-sponsored nativity scene on public land or if it may adopt neutral rules permitting the exclusion of the nativity scene.
Court membership
Chief Justice
Warren E. Burger
Associate Justices
William J. Brennan Jr. · Byron White Thurgood Marshall · Harry Blackmun Lewis F. Powell Jr. · William Rehnquist John P. Stevens · Sandra Day O'Connor
Case opinions
Per curiam.
Powell took no part in the consideration or decision of the case.
Laws applied
U.S. Const. amend. I
Board of Trustees of Scarsdale v. McCreary, 471 U.S. 83 (1985), was a United States Supreme Court case in which an evenly split Court upheld per curiam a lower court's decision that the display of a privately sponsored nativity scene on public property does not violate the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.[1]
Contents
1Background
2Issue
3Opinion of the Court
4See also
5References
6External links
Background[edit]
The Village of Scarsdale (coextensive with the Town of Scarsdale) in Westchester County, New York had permitted since 1957 the annual display of creches sponsored by the Scarsdale Creche Committee, a private organization, in Boniface Circle, a small public park in the central business district, for about two weeks during the Christmas season. However, in 1981, the Village Board of Trustees began barring the placement of nativity scenes in the park due to increasing opposition from residents, fifty percent of whom were Jewish, who deemed it "unneighborly" and "insensitive."
In 1983, the Creche Committee along with a group of twelve residents (one of whom being resident Kathleen McCreary), referred to as the Citizens' Group, brought a suit against the Scarsdale Board of Trustees in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, arguing that the Board's withdrawal of permission to display the nativity scene in the park was a violation of the First Amendment's protection of free speech and free exercise of religion. Judge Charles E. Stewart, Jr. ruled on December 8, 1983 in the case of McCreary v. Stone[2] that the display of the nativity scene did, indeed, constitute an impermissible establishment of religion, stating that ''when a symbol is left on public land, the land actually becomes the message-bearer.''[3]
Certiorari to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit was granted and the case was heard in June 1984. The appeals court affirmed the district court's determination that the Village's denial of the display of the nativity scene was content-based (meaning the denial was based on the religious nature of the display) as well as its findings of fact. However, the court of appeals disagreed with the district court's analysis of Widmar v. Vincent (on which its decision was partially based) in light of Lynch v. Donnelly (which came only one month after the district court's ruling) saying "an equal-access policy would not contravene the establishment clause." The court of appeals reversed the decision and remanded the case.[4]
The Scarsdale Board interpreted the court of appeals' decision to mean it was compelled to display the nativity scene on public land. The Board of Trustees voted unanimously to appeal the decision to the Supreme Court.
Issue[edit]
At issue was whether the display of a privately sponsored nativity scene, a religious symbol, on public land was a violation of the separation of church and state laid out in the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the Constitution. This protection against the establishment of religion was balanced against the First Amendment protections of free speech and free exercise of religion.[5]
Opinion of the Court[edit]
The case was argued before the Supreme Court on February 20, 1985 and a decision was announced on March 27, 1985.
Justice Powell did not partake in the consideration and decision of the case because he was recovering from surgery at the time. With an evenly split Court, the decision of the lower court of appeals was affirmed per curiam. The Supreme Court declined to order that the case be re-argued at a later date.
It is ambiguous in the lower court's decision whether the village government may adopt neutral rules permitting or excluding the display of a privately sponsored nativity scene on public land or whether it is obliged to permit the display of the nativity scene on public land.[6]
Justices O'Connor, Rehnquist and White during oral argument disagreed with the Village's interpretation of the appeals court's decision as meaning it was compelled to display the nativity scene on public lands. Instead, they read the decision more narrowly to state that the Village may prohibit the nativity scene on a more neutral basis.[7]
See also[edit]
List of United States Supreme Court cases, volume 471
Lynch v. Donnelly (1984)
References[edit]
^Board of Trustees of Scarsdale v. McCreary, 471 U.S. 83 (1985).
^McCreary v. Stone, 575 F. Supp. 1112 (S.D.N.Y. 1983).
^Feron, James (July 21, 1983). "Suit Challenges Scarsdale Creche Ban". New York Times. Retrieved March 11, 2016.
^"U.S. High Court Deadlocks on Scarsdale Creche Case". New York Times. March 28, 1985. Retrieved March 10, 2016.
^Greenhouse, Linda (February 21, 1985). "Scarsdale's Creche Ban Defended Before Justices". New York Times. Retrieved March 10, 2016.
External links[edit]
Text of Board of Trustees of Scarsdale v. McCreary, 471 U.S. 83 (1985) is available from: CourtListenerFindlawGoogle ScholarJustiaLibrary of CongressOyez (oral argument audio)
United States' amicus brief
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit opinion on McCreary v. Stone
v
t
e
United States First Amendment case law
Establishment Clause
Public funding
Everson v. Board of Education (1947)
McCollum v. Board of Education (1948)
Walz v. Tax Commission of the City of New York (1970)
Lemon v. Kurtzman (1971)
Marsh v. Chambers (1983)
Mueller v. Allen (1983)
Aguilar v. Felton (1985)
Board of Education of Kiryas Joel Village School District v. Grumet (1994)
Agostini v. Felton (1997)
Mitchell v. Helms (2000)
Zelman v. Simmons-Harris (2002)
Locke v. Davey (2004)
Arizona Christian School Tuition Organization v. Winn (2011)
Public displays
Stone v. Graham (1980)
Lynch v. Donnelly (1984)
Board of Trustees of Scarsdale v. McCreary (1985)
County of Allegheny v. ACLU (1989)
McCreary County v. ACLU of Kentucky (2005)
Van Orden v. Perry (2005)
Pleasant Grove City v. Summum (2009)
School prayer
Zorach v. Clauson (1952)
Engel v. Vitale (1962)
Abington School District v. Schempp (1963)
Stone v. Graham (1980)
Wallace v. Jaffree (1985)
Lee v. Weisman (1992)
Santa Fe Independent School District v. Doe (2000)
Elk Grove Unified School District v. Newdow (2004)
Creationism
Epperson v. Arkansas (1968)
Edwards v. Aguillard (1987)
Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District (M.D. Pa. 2005)
Legislature prayer
Marsh v. Chambers (1983)
Town of Greece v. Galloway (2014)
Other
McGowan v. Maryland (1961)
McDaniel v. Paty (1978)
Estate of Thornton v. Caldor, Inc. (1985)
Texas Monthly, Inc. v. Bullock (1989)
Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church & School v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (2012)
Free Exercise Clause
Reynolds v. United States (1879)
Davis v. Beason (1890)
Schneider v. New Jersey (1939)
Cantwell v. Connecticut (1940)
Minersville School District v. Gobitis (1940)
Murdock v. Pennsylvania (1943)
United States v. Ballard (1944)
Braunfeld v. Brown (1961)
Torcaso v. Watkins (1961)
Sherbert v. Verner (1963)
Presbyterian Church v. Hull Church (1969)
Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972)
Harris v. McRae (1980)
Thomas v. Review Board of the Indiana Employment Security Division (1981)
United States v. Lee (1982)
Bob Jones University v. United States (1983)
Bowen v. Roy (1986)
Goldman v. Weinberger (1986)
Employment Division v. Smith (1990)
Church of Lukumi Babalu Aye v. City of Hialeah (1993)
City of Boerne v. Flores (1997)
Watchtower Society v. Village of Stratton (2002)
Cutter v. Wilkinson (2005)
Trinity Lutheran Church of Columbia, Inc. v. Comer (2017)
Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission (2018)
National Institute of Family and Life Advocates v. Becerra (2018)
Freedom of speech (portal)
Sedition and imminent danger
Alien and Sedition Acts (1798)
Masses Publishing Co. v. Patten (S.D.N.Y. 1917)
Schenck v. United States (1919)
Abrams v. United States (1919)
Gitlow v. New York (1925)
Whitney v. California (1927)
Dennis v. United States (1951)
Communist Party v. Subversive Activities Control Board (1955, 1961)
Yates v. United States (1957, clear and present danger)
Bond v. Floyd (1966)
Brandenburg v. Ohio (1969, imminent lawless action)
Hess v. Indiana (1973)
False speech
New York Times Co. v. Sullivan (1964, actual malice)
United States v. Alvarez (2012)
Susan B. Anthony List v. Driehaus (2014)
Fighting words and the heckler's veto
Cantwell v. Connecticut (1940)
Chaplinsky v. New Hampshire (1942)
Terminiello v. Chicago (1949)
Feiner v. New York (1951)
Gregory v. Chicago (1969)
National Socialist Party of America v. Village of Skokie (1977)
R.A.V. v. City of St. Paul (1992)
Snyder v. Phelps (2011)
Elonis v. United States (2015)
Freedom of assembly and public forums
Hague v. CIO (1939)
Schneider v. New Jersey (1939)
Thornhill v. Alabama (1940)
Martin v. City of Struthers (1943)
Marsh v. Alabama (1946)
Niemotko v. Maryland (1951)
Edwards v. South Carolina (1963)
Cox v. Louisiana (1965)
Brown v. Louisiana (1966)
Adderley v. Florida (1966)
Carroll v. Town of Princess Anne (1968)
Coates v. Cincinnati (1971)
Organization for a Better Austin v. Keefe (1971)
Lloyd Corp. v. Tanner (1972)
Pruneyard Shopping Center v. Robins (1980)
Hill v. Colorado (2000)
McCullen v. Coakley (2014)
Packingham v. North Carolina (2017)
Symbolic speech
Stromberg v. California (1931)
United States v. O'Brien (1968)
Cohen v. California (1971)
Smith v. Goguen (1974)
Texas v. Johnson (1989)
United States v. Eichman (1990)
Virginia v. Black (2003)
Compelled speech
Minersville School District v. Gobitis (1940)
West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette (1943)
Wooley v. Maynard (1977)
Agency for International Development v. Alliance for Open Society International, Inc. (2013)
National Institute of Family and Life Advocates v. Becerra (2018)
Compelled subsidy of others' speech
Abood v. Detroit Board of Education (1977)
Communications Workers of America v. Beck (1978)
Keller v. State Bar of California (1990)
Lehnert v. Ferris Faculty Ass'n (1991)
Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System v. Southworth (2000)
Johanns v. Livestock Marketing Association (2005)
Davenport v. Washington Education Association (2007)
Locke v. Karass (2008)
Knox v. Service Employees International Union, Local 1000 (2012)
Harris v. Quinn (2014)
Friedrichs v. California Teachers Ass'n (2016)
Janus v. AFSCME (2018)
Loyalty oaths
American Communications Association v. Douds (1950)
Garner v. Board of Public Works (1951)
Speiser v. Randall (1958)
Keyishian v. Board of Regents (1967)
Communist Party of Indiana v. Whitcomb (1974)
School speech
Minersville School District v. Gobitis (1940)
West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette (1943)
Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District (1969, substantial disruption)
Island Trees School District v. Pico (1982)
Bethel School District v. Fraser (1986)
Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier (1988)
Rosenberger v. University of Virginia (1995)
Morse v. Frederick (2007)
Obscenity
Rosen v. United States (1896)
United States v. One Book Called Ulysses (S.D.N.Y. 1933)
Roth v. United States (1957)
One, Inc. v. Olesen (1958)
Smith v. California (1959)
Marcus v. Search Warrant (1961)
MANual Enterprises v. Day (1962)
Jacobellis v. Ohio (1964)
Quantity of Books v. Kansas (1964)
Freedman v. Maryland (1965)
Ginzburg v. United States (1966)
Memoirs v. Massachusetts (1966)
Redrup v. New York (1967)
Ginsberg v. New York (1968)
Stanley v. Georgia (1969)
Cohen v. California (1971)
United States v. Thirty-seven Photographs (1971)
Kois v. Wisconsin (1972)
Miller v. California (1973)
Paris Adult Theatre I v. Slaton (1973)
United States v. 12 200-ft. Reels of Film (1973)
Jenkins v. Georgia (1974)
Erznoznik v. City of Jacksonville (1975)
Young v. American Mini Theatres (1976)
New York v. Ferber (1982)
American Booksellers v. Hudnut (7th Cir., 1985)
Renton v. Playtime Theatres, Inc. (1986)
People v. Freeman (Cal. 1988)
Osborne v. Ohio (1990)
United States v. X-Citement Video (1994)
Reno v. American Civil Liberties Union (1997)
United States v. Playboy Entertainment Group (2000)
Ashcroft v. Free Speech Coalition (2002)
Ashcroft v. American Civil Liberties Union (2002)
Nitke v. Gonzales (S.D.N.Y., 2005)
United States v. Williams (2008)
Federal Communications Commission v. Fox Television Stations (2012)
American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression v. Strickland (6th Cir., 2009)
United States v. Kilbride (9th Cir., 2009)
United States v. Stevens (2010)
Brown v. Entertainment Merchants Association (2011)
Public employees
Pickering v. Board of Education (1968)
Perry v. Sindermann (1972)
Board of Regents of State Colleges v. Roth (1972)
Mt. Healthy City School District Board of Education v. Doyle (1977)
Givhan v. Western Line Consolidated School District (1979)
Connick v. Myers (1983)
Rankin v. McPherson (1987)
Waters v. Churchill (1994)
Garcetti v. Ceballos (2006)
Borough of Duryea v. Guarnieri (2011)
Heffernan v. City of Paterson (2016)
Hatch Act and similar laws
Ex parte Curtis (1882)
United Public Workers v. Mitchell (1947)
United States Civil Service Commission v. National Association of Letter Carriers (1973)
Broadrick v. Oklahoma (1973)
Licensing and restriction of speech
Mutual Film Corporation v. Industrial Commission of Ohio (1915)
Joseph Burstyn, Inc. v. Wilson (1952)
NAACP v. Button (1963)
Freedman v. Maryland (1965)
Virginia State Pharmacy Board v. Virginia Citizens Consumer Council (1976)
Hoffman Estates v. The Flipside, Hoffman Estates, Inc. (1982)
Walker v. Texas Division, Sons of Confederate Veterans (2015)
Matal v. Tam (2017)
Commercial speech
Valentine v. Chrestensen (1942)
Rowan v. U.S. Post Office Dept. (1970)
Pittsburgh Press Co. v. Pittsburgh Commission on Human Relations (1973)
Bigelow v. Commonwealth of Virginia (1974)
Virginia State Pharmacy Board v. Virginia Citizens Consumer Council (1976)
Bates v. State Bar of Arizona (1977)
Linmark Associates, Inc. v. Willingboro (1977)
Central Hudson Gas & Electric Corp. v. Public Service Commission (1980)
Consol. Edison Co. v. Public Serv. Comm'n (1980)
Zauderer v. Office of Disciplinary Counsel of Supreme Court of Ohio (1985)
Pacific Gas & Electric Co. v. Public Utilities Commission of California (1986)
Posadas de Puerto Rico Associates v. Tourism Company of Puerto Rico (1986)
San Francisco Arts & Athletics, Inc. v. United States Olympic Committee (1987)
44 Liquormart, Inc. v. Rhode Island (1996)
Sorrell v. IMS Health Inc. (2011)
Campaign finance and political speech
Buckley v. Valeo (1976)
First National Bank of Boston v. Bellotti (1978)
Citizens Against Rent Control v. City of Berkeley (1981)
Brown v. Socialist Workers '74 Campaign Committee (1982)
Regan v. Taxation with Representation of Washington (1983)
FEC v. Massachusetts Citizens for Life (1986)
Austin v. Michigan Chamber of Commerce (1990)
McIntyre v. Ohio Elections Commission (1995)
Colorado Republican Federal Campaign Committee v. FEC (1996)
Nixon v. Shrink Missouri Government PAC (2000)
Republican Party of Minnesota v. White (2002)
McConnell v. FEC (2003)
Randall v. Sorrell (2006)
FEC v. Wisconsin Right to Life, Inc. (2007)
Davis v. FEC (2008)
Citizens United v. FEC (2010)
McComish v. Bennett (2011)
American Tradition Partnership v. Bullock (2012)
McCutcheon v. Federal Election Commission (2014)
Williams-Yulee v. The Florida Bar (2015)
Freedom of the press
Prior restraints and censorship
Near v. Minnesota (1931)
Lovell v. City of Griffin (1938)
Hannegan v. Esquire, Inc. (1946)
New York Times Co. v. United States (1971)
Miami Herald Publishing Co. v. Tornillo (1974)
Nebraska Press Ass'n v. Stuart (1976)
Landmark Communications, Inc. v. Virginia (1978)
Tory v. Cochran (2005)
Privacy
Time, Inc. v. Hill (1967)
Cox Broadcasting Corp. v. Cohn (1975)
Florida Star v. B. J. F. (1989)
Taxation and privileges
Grosjean v. American Press Co. (1936)
Branzburg v. Hayes (1972)
Minneapolis Star Tribune Co. v. Commissioner (1983)
Defamation
Beauharnais v. Illinois (1952)
New York Times Co. v. Sullivan (1964)
Curtis Publishing Co. v. Butts (1967)
Greenbelt Cooperative Publishing Ass'n, Inc. v. Bresler (1970)
Gertz v. Robert Welch, Inc. (1974)
Time, Inc. v. Firestone (1976)
Bose Corp. v. Consumers Union of United States, Inc. (1984)
Dun & Bradstreet, Inc. v. Greenmoss Builders, Inc. (1985)
McDonald v. Smith (1985)
Hustler Magazine v. Falwell (1988)
Harte-Hanks Communications, Inc. v. Connaughton (1989)
Milkovich v. Lorain Journal Co. (1990)
Obsidian Finance Group, LLC v. Cox (9th Cir., 2014)
Broadcast media
Red Lion Broadcasting Co. v. FCC (1969)
FCC v. Pacifica Foundation (1978)
Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. v. FCC (1994)
Bartnicki v. Vopper (2001)
Copyrighted materials
Zacchini v. Scripps-Howard Broadcasting Co. (1977)
Harper & Row v. Nation Enterprises (1985)
Freedom of association
Joint Anti-Fascist Refugee Committee v. McGrath (1951)
Watkins v. United States (1957)
NAACP v. Alabama (1958)
NAACP v. Button (1963)
Baggett v. Bullitt (1964)
In re Primus (1978)
Roberts v. United States Jaycees (1984)
Hurley v. Irish-American Gay, Lesbian, & Bisexual Group of Boston (1995)
Boy Scouts of America v. Dale (2000)
Categories:
Establishment Clause case law
United States Supreme Court cases
United States Supreme Court cases of the Burger Court
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