Recent Development by Sacha Aaron Boegem
John Ellis Briggs, a Mississippi citizen, filed a pro se complaint against the State of Mississippi alleging that it violated the Establishment Clause by using public property and funds to fly the state flag, which incorporates the Confederate battle flag and includes a St. Andrew's Cross (or Southern Cross). Briggs requested that “a just inquiry be made to determine whether a religious symbol . . . should be removed from display on public property” and that the State be made to pay punitive damages. “The State moved to dismiss on the basis of the Eleventh Amendment and because the complaint did not state a constitutional violation.” Briggs filed a response to the motion to dismiss and later filed a motion for leave to amend the complaint. The amended complaint added Mississippi Governor Ronnie Musgrove as a defendant. All other allegations were directed at the State and included an allegation that the State “willfully and maliciously” used public property and money to display a religious symbol, thereby violating Briggs's constitutional rights. In addition to money damages, Briggs sought to have the St. Andrew's Cross removed from display in public places and the State found in violation of the First Amendment.
The United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi granted the State's motion to dismiss, denied Briggs's motion for leave to amend, and dismissed the case. Briggs appealed, arguing, inter alia, that the district court erred in holding that Mississippi's use of the St. Andrew's Cross on the state flag did not violate the Establishment Clause. A panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed the district court's dismissal, finding that the State's actions satisfied all of the relevant Establishment Clause inquiry tests. Hence, the court held that the Mississippi flag did not violate the Establishment Clause. Briggs v. Mississippi, 331 F.3d 499, 508 (5th Cir. 2003).
About the Author
Sacha Aaron Boegem.
Citation
78 Tul. L. Rev. 2279 (2004)