2010—In American Atheists, Inc., v. Duncan, a Tenth Circuit panel holds that the state of Utah violated the Establishment Clause by allowing the private Utah Highway Patrol Association to memorialize troopers killed in the line of duty by erecting large white crosses on public property near the locations of their deaths.
In dissent from his court’s denial of en banc review, Judge Neil Gorsuch will decry that the Tenth Circuit applies its dubious “reasonable observer” test by using an observer who “continues to be biased, replete with foibles, and prone to mistake.”
In a lengthy dissent from the Supreme Court’s failure to grant certioriari, Justice Thomas will lament that the Court “rejects an opportunity to provide clarity to an Establishment Clause jurisprudence in shambles.”