The Supreme Court of the United States ruled 9-0 in favor of Pleasant Grove City in its choice of government speech in public monument displays. Chief Counsel Jay Sekulow presented oral arguments on behalf of the little town in Utah regarding a municipality’s duties and abilities in the display of public monuments on November 12, 2009.
The American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) contended that the Tenth Circuit made a serious error confusing government speech with private speech. In its briefs, the ACLJ argued that “a city’s selection of which items to display in a park – like its selection of decorations for government buildings – is government speech, and no private entity can claim a ‘Me too!’ right of access for its own preferred displays.” The ruling is significant in that it unanimously overturns that lower court ruling. Read Regent Con Law Professor David Wagner’s take on the matter at his blog.
This case and its holding is particularly significant in that it was researched and analyzed by myriad attorneys who are Regent alums – along with more than 60 current Regent Law students. In last week’s chapel Dean Brauch and the law school congratulated Mr. Sekulow and the ACLJ on this significant win. Mr. Sekulow asked for a show of hands of students who “had a touch on the case.” Nearly 1/3 of the Moot Court Room held up hands – how exciting for those students – and for those of us who have watched this all play out!
Regent Law is a place where students can learn the law in a context of biblical integration and have the opportunity to work with one of the most notable and effective public interest law firms in the nation – the American Center for law and Justice (ACLJ), located on the 4th floor of Robertson Hall at Regent University.
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