Shurtleff v. City of Boston Oral Argument

The Supreme Court heard oral argument in Shurtleff v. City of Boston, a case stemming from the city denying a Christian group’s request to fly its flag with a cross on it over city hall and whether the denial violates the First Amendment. In 2017 Harold Shurtleff, founder and director of Camp Constitution, an organization focused on education and understanding of Judeo-Christian values, filed an application with the city to the organization’s “Christian flag” on a city hall flagpole. The city denied his request, citing it as religious in nature. The city offered an alternative, but Mr. Shurtleff refused and later filed another application to fly the flag for a Camp Constitution event and was again denied. Boston owns the flag poles in front of city hall and has previously approved requests to fly other flags. Mr. Shurtleff filed suit, arguing that government officials cannot exclude his religious expression in a public forum such as that of city hall. close