County of Allegheny v. ACLU

In County of Allegheny v. ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union), 492 U.S. 573 (1989), the Court again addressed the constitutionality of a creche displayed as part of a city's holiday celebration. There, unlike in Lynch, the creche was located on the Grand Staircase of the county courthouse. 492 U.S. at 578. The display was also surrounded by a fence and poinsettia floral frame and included small evergreen trees, but unlike the display in Lynch, did not include figures of Santa Claus, reindeer, or other decorations traditionally associated with the secular aspects of Christmas. Id. at 580-81. The Court noted that the location of the creche on the Grand Staircase of the Allegheny County Courthouse -- "the `main' and `most beautiful part' of the building that is the seat of county government," id. at 599 -- would make it almost impossible for any reasonable viewer to "think that it occupied this location without the support and approval of the government." Id. at 599- 600. Accordingly, the Court ruled that the display was an impermissible endorsement of religion under Lemon. Lynch teaches that government may celebrate Christmas in some manner and form, but not in a way that endorses Christian doctrine. Here, Allegheny County has transgressed this line. It has chosen to celebrate Christmas in a way that has the effect of endorsing a patently Christian message: Glory to God for the birth of Jesus Christ. Under Lynch, and the rest of our cases, nothing more is required to demonstrate a violation of the Establishment Clause. Id. at 601-02. However, the Court upheld the city's display of a Chanukah menorah placed next to a Christmas tree and a sign saluting liberty, all of which were located just outside the City-County Building. Id. at 620-21. In doing so, the Court reasoned: The relevant question for Establishment Clause purposes is whether the combined display of the tree, the sign, and the menorah has the effect of endorsing both Christian and Jewish faiths, or rather simply recognizes that both Christmas and Chanukah are part of the same winter-holiday season, which has attained a secular status in our society. Of the two interpretations of this particular display, the latter seems far more plausible . . . . Id. at 616.