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Constitutional Law

Federal judge nixes attorney-owned nativity display on courthouse lawn

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A federal judge in Arkansas has ruled that a 40-year tradition of displaying a nativity scene on the Baxter County courthouse lawn is unconstitutional.

For years, the nativity scene has used figures owned by attorney Rick Spencer, and last year the county leased a small land parcel on which the nativity scene is now displayed to the local chamber of commerce for $1, according to AL.com and the Arkansas Times.

However, U.S. District Judge Timothy Brooks said the display violates the First Amendment because it promotes a particular religious viewpoint. The county must either ban “religiously sectarian” displays on courthouse grounds, he wrote in a Thursday opinion (PDF), or “create a public forum on the courthouse grounds for a seasonal display open to persons of all faiths as well as of no faith at all, without discrimination on the basis of viewpoint.”

The lawsuit was brought by the American Humanist Association on behalf of Dessa Blackthorn, who says the county refused her request to include a winter solstice banner near the courthouse lawn nativity scene.

The courthouse display also reportedly has included a Christmas tree, a reindeer and Santa on a sleigh in recent years.

It isn’t clear from news coverage how county officials plan to respond to the judge’s ruling.

Related coverage:

ABAJournal.com: “Annual holiday season battle begins over nativity scenes”