The Supreme Court handed down Pleasant Grove City v. Summum today, a free speech case about the installation of a monument in a public park. I don’t follow First Amendment caselaw very closely, but I thought Justice Alito’s majority opinion was unusually good: Tight, well-reasoned, and persuasive. My only complaint was footnote 2, in which Alito reprints the lyrics to John Lennon’s song Imagine. I don’t think it was necessary, given the wide public familiarity with the song. Plus, it seems a bit too cute. But then I suppose I’m more skeptical than most to popular music references in judicial opinions.