The Jackson County courthouse in Brownstown, Indiana, adorned with its annual Christmas display. | Liberty Counsel
The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday reversed a lower court ruling that found that an annual nativity scene displayed outside a public building in Jackson County, Indiana is unconstitutional.
The three-judge panel ruled 2-1 Tuesday that the presence of the nativity scene outside Jackson County s historic courthouse in Brownstown doesn t constitute a government endorsement of religion and doesn t violate the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.
This decision marks one of the first federal appeals courts to apply the Supreme Court’s 2019 precedent when it ruled that a 40-foot cross located on public land in Maryland is constitutional.