Archdiocese of Washington, Petitioner v. Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, et al.

The Archdiocese of Washington challenged WMATA's refusal to run a bus ad for its Christmas campaign because the transit system treated it as religious advertising. On April 6, 2020, the Supreme Court declined review and left the lower-court result in place without deciding the merits.

The Court declined review on April 6, 2020, but no vote count or opinion details are provided here.

The case affects whether public transit systems can accept many secular holiday or charity ads while rejecting similar religious messages. That matters for groups like churches, charities, and agencies that use bus ads to reach the public.

This docket action is over at the Supreme Court. The lower-court ruling remains in effect, and the Court's refusal to hear the case did not settle the underlying constitutional question nationwide.

The Archdiocese said WMATA allowed many secular holiday and charity ads but rejected its similar Christmas ad because it was religious.

Religious groups, nonprofits, and transit agencies could all be affected. Transit systems may keep applying their current ad policies unless other courts say otherwise.

There was no further Supreme Court step in this docket. The Court finished the case by declining review, leaving the lower-court result in place.