Capitol Square Review & Advisory Board v. Pinette

The Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, made binding upon the States through the Fourteenth Amendment, provides that government “shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion.” The question in this case is whether a State violates the Establishment Clause when, pursuant to a religiously neutral state policy, it permits a private party to display an unattended religious symbol in a traditional public forum located next to its seat of government.

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Capitol Square is a 10-acre, state-owned plaza surrounding the statehouse in Columbus, Ohio. For over a century the square has…