On The Front Lines
Institute Scores First Amendment Victory for Christian-Owned Business!
The Rutherford Institute Protects Christian-Owned Business' Right to Freely Advertise on Maryland High School ScoreboardBOONSBORO, Md. -- Attorneys for The Rutherford Institute have successfully protected the First Amendment rights of Family Recreation Park, a local Christian-owned business that incorporates a fish symbol and the Greek letters for Jesus into its logo, to advertise on the scoreboard of Boonsboro High School.
In the spring of 2002, the senior class of Boonsboro High School elected to raise funds for the school by offering advertising space to local businesses on the back of a new scoreboard the school was purchasing. The school planned to debut the scoreboard in the fall of 2003.
After being solicited by Boonsboro students about the advertising opportunity, Family Recreation Park manager Jayne Angle decided to contract with the school for the advertising space. The Washington County Board of Education, however, rejected the Family Recreation Park sign because of the religious content in its advertisement, which included a small fish symbol along with the Greek letters for Jesus.
On Sept. 9, 2003, Angle contacted Institute attorneys, who quickly drafted a letter to school board officials arguing that the school, having opened scoreboard advertising to the public, had created a limited public forum. Institute attorneys informed the school board of Family Recreation Park's First Amendment rights to free expression without discrimination in that forum and threatened legal action if school board officials elected to continue discriminating against Family Recreation Park.
After receiving the letter and information from The Rutherford Institute, school board officials quickly reversed course, approving Family Recreation Park's sign in time for it to be displayed on the scoreboard during the school's first home football game.
"By inviting businesses to advertise on the scoreboard for a fee, the school created a limited public forum and could impose only those restrictions that were religiously neutral," said John W. Whitehead, founder and president of The Rutherford Institute. "Discrimination against messages simply because they are religious is not permissible in any forum."
The Rutherford Institute is an international, nonprofit civil liberties organization committed to defending constitutional and human rights.
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