Archdiocese of Washington v. Washington Metropolitan Transit Authority, et al., No. 18-1455. Scheduled for Conference October 1, 2019.
Today marks the Supreme Court’s official ‘back to work’ day, exemplified by the characterization of the first ensemble of the justices for the term as “the long conference,” in which the accumulated and prospective business before the Court demands extensive and intensive attention.
Among the many petitions of note is the Archdiocese of Washington’s (ADW) request that the Court grant its petition for certiorari to determine whether the Washington Metropolitan Transit Authority’s (WMATA) prohibition on religious advertisements on its buses violates the First Amendment.
The dispute between the church and state entities arose in 2017, when WMATA refused to permit publication of a “Find the Perfect Gift” advertisement intended for public viewing in anticipation of the Christmas holiday. Although similar advertisements had been accepted and were widely seen within the WMATA ridership area, in 2015 WMATA promulgated regulations banning “Issue” messages, including political and religious views. WMATA reasoned that such messages stirred controversy and management of public concerns in reviewing complaints consumed an inordinate amount of resources.
The Archdiocese argues that the Court’s precedent compels the conclusion that WMATA rules impermissibly suppress speech, notwithstanding the opinion of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to the contrary.
The Archdiocese argues that WMATA’s rules cannot survive review under either the First Amendment or the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. As WMATA has admitted that it permits messages with secular messages but not with religious messages, WMATA has engaged in impermissible viewpoint discrimination.
The Archdiocese disputes the position that the exclusion of the “subject” of religion avoids constitutional offense. All manner of commentary about Christmas is permitted except religious commentary: this is exactly what is meant by viewpoint discrimination.
Particularly where religion enjoys specific constitutional protections, the imposition of speech burdens or prohibitions is unacceptable. Adopting the government’s view would carry with it the potential to banish religious speech from all forums, a constitutionally unacceptable result.
The Washington Metropolitan Transit Authority disputes the Archdiocese’s argument, asserting that its regulation, intended to avoid controversy and its associated costs, is a reasonable viewpoint neutral subject limitation applicable to a non-public forum. WMATA counters the church’s arguments about speech suppression with the prediction that if the regulation is struck down, then all advertisements opposing religion will be required to be accepted, to the detriment of the government’s ability to manage its transit authority and to the detriment of its ridership.
WMATA cautions the court that adopting the Archdiocese’s position would destroy the forum analyses applied to permissible and impermissible restrictions on speech in public forums.
WMATA argues that there is no Religious Freedom Restoration Act claim to be reviewed, as RFRA does not apply to the states, and WMATA is an inter-state project comprising of the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia.
JustLawful Prognostication: “Definitely maybe.”
The Court could grant certiorari if it determines it important to weed the thicket of controversy and misunderstanding that have attached to analyses of permissible speech limitations, including forum analyses. There is little doubt that this is a significant issue on both speech and religious freedom points.
It is equally possible that, given that the appellate court decision in issue concerns preliminary relief and not a determination on the merits, that the Court will avoid tackling these important concepts in the absence of a more developed record.
An eleventh hour tipping point may have emerged. Just days before the long conference, the Archdiocese submitted a supplementary brief arguing that a recent decision by the Third Circuit striking down regulations not dissimilar from the WMATA rules creates a split in circuit decisions making more urgent the Supreme Court’s grant of certiorari.
Briefs in Support and Opposition to Petition for Certiorari
2019 05 19 Petition for Writ of Certiorari
2019 07 22 WMATA Opposition to Peittion for Certiorari
2019 08 06 Reply of Archdiocese v WMATA
2019 09 26 ADW Supplemental Brief in Support of Petition for Certiorari
Amicus Submissions
2019 06 20 Amicus Brief Foundation for Moral Law
2019 06 21 Amicus Brief Christian Legal Society et al
2019 06 21 Amicus Brief of National Association of Evangelicals et al
Opinions of D.C. Circuit and U.S.D.C. D.C.
Archdiocese of Wash. v. Wash. Metro. Area Transit Auth., 897 F.3d 314 (D.C. Cir., 2018)
Archdiocese of Wash. v. Wash. Metro. Area Transit Auth., 281 F. Supp. 3d 88 (D. D.C., 2017)
Opinion of the Third Circuit Court of Appeals
Ne. Pa. Freethought Soc’y v. Cnty. of Lackawanna Transit Sys.No. 18-2743 (3rd Cir., 2019)
Just Lawful 