Today, the U.S.Supreme Court has denied a petition (pdf) to hear an appeal in the Utah roadside crosses case. This rejection leaves in place the 10th Circuit's ruling that the crosses are unconstitutional, a victory for common sense and an Establishment Clause that has been fractured by other recent Supreme Court rulings on government monuments.
In a lengthy dissent, Justice Clarence Thomas lamented the decision as a lost opportunity to provide clarity on the issue of government-sponsored religious displays.
Thomas said the case offered the court the opportunity to clear up confusion over its approach to disputes over the First Amendment's Establishment Clause, the prohibition against governmental endorsement of religion.
"Today the court rejects an opportunity to provide clarity to an Establishment Clause jurisprudence in shambles," Thomas said.
Previous high court cases have made it difficult for lower courts to figure out what to do in this area and "rendered the constitutionality of displays of religious imagery on government property anyone's guess," he said.
