Justice Clarence Thomas issued a 19 page dissent, saying the court had rejected “an opportunity to provide clarity to an establishment-clause jurisprudence in shambles.”

The Supreme Court on Monday refused to hear an appeal of a ruling that the placement of crosses on the side of Utah highways to honor fallen state troopers violated the First Amendment’s prohibition on government establishment of religion.

As is its custom, the court gave no reasons for declining to hear the case. Justice Clarence Thomas issued a 19-page dissent, saying the court had rejected “an opportunity to provide clarity to an establishment-clause jurisprudence in shambles.”

The crosses are white and about 12 feet tall, with six-foot crossbars. They were donated by the Utah Highway Patrol Association, a private group, and placed near where the troopers had died. The crosses bear a trooper’s name, picture, badge number and biographical information, along with the symbol of the Utah Highway Patrol.

The Supreme Court’s establishment-clause jurisprudence has been shifting and confusing. The two appeals the court declined to hear on Monday — Davenport v. American Atheists, No. 10-1297, and Utah Highway Patrol Association v. American Atheists, No. 10-1276 — would have given the court an opportunity to clarify the murky guidance it has provided in this area.

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