Shurtleff v City of Boston, (2022), was a United States Supreme Court case related to the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.

Background.

Boston, Massachusetts allows groups to have their flags flown over Boston City Hall. A Christian group, Camp Constitution, sought to have the city fly a Christian flag. Camp Constitution and its director Hal Shurtleff teach that the United States was created as a "Christian nation." After the city denied their application, the first denial of more than a few hundred applications, Shurtleff sued.

The city prevailed in the district court and the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, and Shurtleff appealed to the Supreme Court.

Supreme Court.

Certiorari was granted in the case on September 30, 2021. On May 2, 2022, the Court unanimously ruled that the City of Boston violated the First Amendment by denying Shurtleff's application to fly the flag.

Reactions.

The Joe Biden administration and the American Civil Liberties Union sided with the Christian group. The administration said that "The city cannot generally open its flagpole to flags from private civic and social groups while excluding otherwise similar groups with religious views".