CNS News - Supreme Court Extends Stay in San Diego Cross Case

July 10, 2006

By Susan Jones
CNSNews.com Senior Editor

(CNSNews.com) - A conservative civil liberties group said it is confident that the case of the Mt. Soledad cross will receive the legal attention it deserves, now that Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy has extended a stay, temporarily keeping the cross right where it is -- on a hillside overlooking the City of San Diego.

Last week, on July 3, Justice Kennedy issued a temporary stay; and late on Friday, he issued an order extending that stay -- leaving open the possibility that the high court ultimately could take the case, the American Center for Law and Justice noted.

The ACLJ represents 22 members of Congress in the case and has filed a friend of the court brief supporting San Diego's request for the Supreme Court to intervene in the case.

"The decision to extend the stay and keep the Mt. Soledad cross in place is not only a critical victory but represents an extremely important legal development as this case unfolds," said Jay Sekulow, the ACLJ's chief counsel.

"In taking the unusual step to extend the stay, Justice Kennedy clearly understands that the legal appeals must move forward and that the action taken by Congress to designate the cross as a national war memorial cannot be ignored.

"By extending the stay, there is now time to fully litigate this case and explore every option - both legally and legislatively - to keep this cross permanently in place. This is a significant case that now has the attention of the Supreme Court," Sekulow said in a press release.

Justice Kennedy left open the possibility that the high court ultimately may take the case, writing that "Congress' evident desire to preserve the memorial makes its substantially more likely that four Justices will agree to review the case..."

With help from the American Civil Liberties Union, an atheist named Phillip Paulson has waged a 15-year legal battle to have the cross on top of Mount Soledad in San Diego removed. A federal court has backed Paulson.

The Mount Soledad cross was built in 1954 as a memorial to Korean War casualties and veterans.