Supreme Court Brief Deadline September 15th
Last week I spent a few days with our client in Pleasant Grove City, Utah. I went through Pioneer Park and met with our senior legal staff as well as city officials. We are now preparing our Reply Brief to Summums legal challenge. As I am sure you are aware, Summum demanded that Pleasant Grove City accept and display their Seven Aphorisms next to a Ten Commandments monument that the city accepted almost 40 years ago.
I have several pictures from my trip to Pleasant Grove City posted here. One thing you will see is that there is a consistent theme through this park. The park at issue is called Pioneer Park; and the theme of the park--as you can tell from the name--is to celebrate the pioneer heritage of the founders of Pleasant Grove City. When the city accepted the monument from the Fraternal Order of Eagles in 1971, the Mayor of Pleasant Grove City stated that the monument itself would serve to remind the citizens of their pioneer heritage. The settlers of Pleasant Grove City were primarily Mormon pioneers. As the Mayor noted, the monument reminds the citizens of their quest for religious freedom. There is also a September 11th monument, which was donated by the Boy Scouts, on display at Pioneer Park. Summum has challenged the citys acceptance of that monument as well.
Once our brief is filed on September 15th, I will begin the process of preparing for the oral arguments. The Court has set November 12th as the argument date, which is the day after Veterans Day. The Veterans of Foreign Wars, the American Legion, the Order of the Purple Heart, and countless other veterans organizations have filed briefs on our side. Also, numerous cities from New York to Dallas to Nashville, TN, and even cities as far west as Casper, WY, have filed briefs on our behalf. This case has garnered quite a bit of support and could even impact the Statue of Liberty. In fact, the United States Government has also filed a brief in support of our position. The Solicitor Generals office will be arguing the case with me on November 12th.
Once our brief is completed, I will post it for your review.