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1 1 (February 12, 2019)

handle is hein.crs/govykj0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Supreme Court May Reconsider Establishment Clause Jurisprudence in Challenge to Cross Display: Part Two Updated February 12, 2019 On February 27, in American Legion v. American Humanist Association, the Supreme Court is scheduled to hear oral argument on the constitutionality of a large cross that was erected as a war memorial in Prince George's County, Maryland. Last year, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (Fourth Circuit) held that the cross display violated the First Amendment's Establishment Clause. The Supreme Court agreed to review this decision, considering not only whether the memorial is unconstitutional but also what test should govern this inquiry. The case thus presents the Court with the opportunity to clarify its Establishment Clause jurisprudence-an area of the law that scholars and judges alike routinely deride for lacking clear legal rules. It also offers the first significant opportunity for the newest members of the Court, Justices Gorsuch and Kavanaugh, to weigh in on this area of the law. This is a two-part Legal Sidebar. Part One briefly reviewed existing Establishment Clause jurisprudence. Part Two, below, focuses on American Legion, reviewing the lower court decision and the parties' arguments before the Supreme Court. It discusses ways the Court might resolve the case, as well as the significant implications the Court's decision could have for Congress. Fourth Circuit Decision The Peace Cross display that the Supreme Court is considering in American Legion was held unconstitutional by a divided panel of the Fourth Circuit last year. The challenged monument is a 40-foot- tall Latin cross that the American Legion erected in 1925. During fundraising efforts and at the monument's dedication, the private organizers emphasized the religious nature of the cross. The cross's base contains a plaque with the names of the Prince George's County soldiers who died in World War I. A Maryland state agency, the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission (Commission), acquired the cross in 1961 and has maintained the monument since. The cross, which stands in the center of one of the busiest intersections in Prince George's County, Maryland, is now part of a memorial park honoring veterans in Bladensburg that includes smaller war memorials located in the vicinity. Congressional Research Service https://crsreports.congress.gov LSB10260 CRS Legal Sidebar Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress

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