OneNewsNow.com - Another Legal Chapter for Mt. Soledad War Memorial Case
February 6, 2007
by Allie Martin and Jenni
Parker
OneNewsNow.com
Chief Counsel Jay Seculow of the American Center for Law and Justice hopes the final legal battle may be imminent in the long fight to save the Mount Soledad Veteran's Memorial cross. Still, he says the ACLU and other liberal and atheist opponents of the cross are not about to give up.
The American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) has filed an amicus brief with the California Supreme Court, arguing for the preservation of the Mt. Soledad War Memorial in San Diego. The centerpiece of the memorial is a 43-foot cross, and that embattled Christian symbol has been the focus of a 20-year legal battle by the ACLU and others who want the cross removed.
The conflict over the Mount Soledad cross is one that has involved several courts and more than one branch of the government. Even the U.S. Legislature has weighed in; on June 26 of last year, San Diego County Representative Duncan Hunter (R-52nd), along with Congressmen Brian Bilbray (R-50th) and Darrell Issa (R-49th) introduced House Report Bill 5683[41], a piece of legislation designed to preserve the Mt. Soledad Veterans Memorial in San Diego by providing for the immediate transfer of the memorial to the federal government.
And on July 3, 2006, at the petition of the city and the cross's supporters, Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy issued a temporary stay of a court order to remove the cross from the veterans memorial. Shortly thereafter Kennedy issued a four-page ruling, officially granting the City of San Diego's request for a stay pending a ruling on the City's appeal.
ACLJ chief counsel Jay Sekulow says the court battle over the Mount Soledad Cross is the most important religious expression case in the country, in part because it gave us the opportunity to see the new Supreme Court in action regarding the historic significance of our religious heritage. And the good news, he adds, is that Justice Kennedy agreed with us -- so that was a very positive development.
Nevertheless, Sekulow acknowledges, the fight is not over and will not be until opponents of the cross have exhausted their legal options. At the end of the day, they're going to keep bringing challenges on this, he says, and we've got to keep meeting those challenges."
The Mount Soledad War Memorial now sits on government property, which is why atheists and liberal groups like the American Civil Liberties Union are still trying to have the cross removed through a series of lawsuits. The ACLJ is asking the California Supreme Court to deny review of the decision of a lower court of appeals that ruled a ballot proposition constitutional, in which San Diego voters overwhelmingly supported the donation of the Mt. Soledad Memorial to the federal government.
The ACLJ filed its briefs in support of the cross on behalf of 22 members of Congress, just weeks after a federal appeals court dismissed a separate legal action challenging the memorial cross, Sekulow notes. The legal documents assert that the court should not hear the case and should let the Court of Appeals decision stand, he explains.
Its important again to say, we've won each and every step of this over the last year and preserved the monument, the ACLJ spokesman notes. But the plaintiff continues to try to bring the case, he says.
The state appeals court got this right, Sekulow contends, and there is simply no reason for the California Supreme Court to take this appeal. He notes that more than 170,000 Americans, including 27,000 Californians, have signed a petition calling for preservation of the Mount Soledad War Memorial.