Conservatives on 9th Circuit Can’t Rescue Boy Scouts From Establishment Clause Claim

Conservatives on the 9th Circuit couldn't muster enough votes to rescue the Boy Scouts. The court denied en banc review to a Boy Scouts group in a case that raises tough church-and-state questions and drew a wide range of amici. Two couples, one lesbian and another agnostic, challenged a lease the Scouts signed with the city of San Diego allowing them to operate recreational facilities on park land, saying that the deal violated the Establishment Clause because of the Scouts' professed reverence of God.