County of Allegheny v. ACLU
Case Date: 05/06/1989
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In County of Allegheny v. ACLU, 492 U.S. 573 (1989), the U.S. Supreme Court considered the constitutionality of two recurring holiday displays located on public property in downtown Pittsburgh. The first, a nativity scene (crèche), was placed on the grand staircase of the Allegheny County Courthouse. The second of the holiday displays in question was an 18-foot Hanukkah menorah, which was placed just outside the City-County Building next to the city's 45-foot decorated Christmas tree. The legality of the Christmas tree display was not considered in this case.
In a complex and fragmented decision, the majority held that the County of Allegheny violated the Establishment Clause by displaying a crèche in the county courthouse, because the "principal or primary effect" of the display was to advance religion within the meaning of Lemon v. Kurtzman, when viewed in its overall context. Moreover, in contrast to Lynch v. Donnelly, nothing in the crèche’s setting detracted from that message.
A different majority held that the menorah display did not have the prohibited effect of endorsing religion, given its "particular physical setting". Its combined display with a Christmas tree and a sign saluting liberty did not impermissibly endorse both the Christian and Jewish faiths, but simply recognized that both Christmas and Hanukkah are part of the same winter-holiday season, which, the court found, has attained a secular status in U.S. society.
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