City Cleared to Reject Religious Monument

Public parks can keep out a monument offered by a small religious group even if they contain a privately donated monument to the Ten Commandments, a unanimous Supreme Court ruled Wednesday.

The decision was a relief to government agencies across the country, which had feared an adverse ruling could force them to accept almost any monument offered by any group.

Writing for the court, Justice Samuel Alito said the key was whether the monument was best compared to speeches, leaflets and other private expression that traditionally takes place in parks, or more akin to a painting or statue in a public museum.

Governments may not favor some views over others in a public forum like a park. But they may choose which works to display in a museum or which books to stock in a library, without a First Amendment obligation to give equal access to any donated material.

"may choose which works to display in a museum or which books to stock in a library"