Thread: High Court Won't Hear Battle Over Mountaintop Cross Memorial

High Court Won't Hear Battle Over Mountaintop Cross Memorial

The 43-foot-tall Mt. Soledad Cross overlooks Mission Bay and La Jolla

By R. Stickney and Matt Rascon
Monday, Jun 30, 2014 | Updated 10:35 AM PDT

The U.S. Supreme Court will not review the decades-long legal dispute over the Mt. Soledad Cross, a cross erected on public land in San Diego in the 1950s that has since become a veterans memorial.

On Monday, Justice Samuel Alito wrote that the issue must go through the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals before the high court can step in.

In December, a federal judge ordered the cross to come down, saying it violates the establishment clause of the Constitution by unlawfully endorsing one religion over others.

The 43-foot-tall cross overlooking Mission Bay and La Jolla is visible from Interstate 5 and is a popular tourist destination.

Opponents of the cross have argued that it is a religious symbol on government land and violates the constitutional separation of church and state.

In a petition, however, the veterans group asked Supreme Court justices to step in and review the decision.

In a statement, an attorney for the plaintiff, Steve Trunk, said his client was pleased with the decision.

"We agree with the Supreme Court that the case should go through the regular appellate process before any decision is made by the Court whether or not it will hear the case," said attorney James McElroy.

The cross was placed on public land in 1954. In 1992, the Mt. Soledad Memorial Association purchased the land and in 2006, the the memorial was officially transferred to the Department of Defense. There are hundreds of plaques honoring veterans of all religions surrounding the base of the cross

In 2011, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the cross violated the First Amendment. The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the case, and it was sent back to federal court in San Diego, where the December ruling was issued.

The lower court's ruling states the cross must be moved within 90 days.

After the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals makes its ruling, it's expected the case would again go to the Supreme Court, according to legal analyst Dan Eaton.

"The Supreme Court is going to have to make the hard decision as to whether the site cross and all violates the establishment clause of the First Amendment or whether it is okay to keep that memorial site with the cross intact," Eaton said.

He said we can expect the legal process to last another two to three years.

http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/ca...265210081.html

RELATED

http://www.alipac.us/f19/mount-soled...victory-51086/

2/22/2007

Nonprofit Buys Mount Soledad Cross Property

Monday, July 20, 2015
By City News Service

Photo by Sandy Huffaker

Above: View of the Mount Soledad Cross and Veterans Memorial.

The nonprofit organization that manages the Mount Soledad Veterans Memorial announced Monday it purchased the property from the U.S. Defense Department for $1.4 million.

The Mount Soledad Memorial Association took control of the half-acre property on Friday.

The memorial has been caught in a decades-long legal battle over the fate of a 29-foot cross, which opponents contend is a government endorsement of a particular religion. The land was owned by the city of San Diego before the federal government took it over nine years ago.

Supporters say the cross is part of a war memorial and note the presence of symbols of other religions.

In 2011, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeal ruled the cross violatesthe U.S. Constitution's establishment clause — which prevents the government from creating a national religion or church — and ordered the case returned to district court for disposition.

U.S. District Judge Larry Burns subsequently ordered that the cross be removed, pending further appeal. The U.S. Supreme Court has twice declined to take the case.

"I am honored to be leading our association at this most significant time in our memorial's history," said Bruce Bailey, president and CEO of the group's board of trustees.

"It marks the first time where our membership can manage the memorial's affairs from a place of ownership and accountability for the property, which is a new and welcomed step for the association," Bailey said. "We are honored to now own this property and will continue to recognize our nation's veterans with the same spirit of integrity our association has demonstrated the past 60 years."

The association has been responsible for maintaining and improving the memorial since it was created in 1954.

The association hosts major events on Memorial Day and the week of Veterans Day, and oversees more than 40 ceremonies each year

http://www.kpbs.org/news/2015/jul/20...ross-property/

Judge: Mt. Soledad cross must come down

12-15-2013