Mt. Soledad Case Goes To Supreme Court

Posted on June 24, 2006

Yesterday evening the City Attorney in San Diego along with Mayor Jerry Sanders decided to take the Mt. Soledad case to the Supreme Court of the United States. I have already assembled one of our Supreme Court teams to file briefs on behalf of the Members of Congress that we represent, as well as ACLJ Members across the country in this important case. It appears at this time that the City will be asking for both a stay of the Ninth Circuit decision as well as a petition for writ of certiorari. The stay of the decision will allow the monument to remain while the litigation is pending at the Supreme Court. The petition for certiorari will ask the Court to grant plenary review of the Ninth Circuit decision.

Generally, under Supreme Court practice, the Circuit Justice in charge of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has the authority to grant the stay. In this case, the Circuit Justice is Anthony Kennedy. Justice Kennedy can either grant the stay, deny the stay, or refer the stay to the entire Supreme Court for determination. It takes five votes to obtain a stay. In order for the case to be reviewed by the Supreme Court on the merits, it only takes four votes.

California Conservative gives us the background from the 9th Circuit’s decision.

According to Thomas More Law Center

ANN ARBOR, MI – “A three–judge panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has refused to stay Federal District Judge Gordon Thompson’s order to remove the Mt.Soledad Cross pending an appeal. Thus, the City of San Diego must remove the Cross by August 1, 2006, or face fines of $5,000 per day thereafter. In its decision, however, the Ninth Circuit scheduled oral arguments on the matter for the week of October 16, 2006, weeks after the Cross is to be removed. The 43- foot Cross was erected in 1954 and currently is the centerpiece of a national memorial honoring American veterans of all wars.

The Thomas More Law Center, a national public interest law firm based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, has been fighting to save the Cross since 2004 when it received information that the private memorial association operating the memorial site and the City were about to agree to settle the case, which had been on going for 15 years, by removing the Cross.

Richard Thompson, the Law Center’s President and Chief Counsel, commented on the recent order: “It is an outrage and insult not only to Christians, but people of all faiths, that this memorial site to our veterans and fallen war heroes would be desecrated by removal of a universally recognized symbol of sacrifice just because one atheist was upset about it. We will continue our legal fight to save the cross. A quick answer to the current legal challenge would be for the federal government to step in and take the land under its power of eminent domain. So far they have remained silent.”

Continued Thompson, “The Cross and memorial honors those Americans of all faiths who have given their lives to preserve our religious freedom; we are now called upon to do whatever it takes to prevent the courts from destroying the Cross that symbolizes our religious heritage and their sacrifice.”

What can I say that I haven’t said before? While the decision to go to the Supreme Court is potential good news, they still need to put a stay on the 9th Circuit’s decision. This entire episode could be solved if President Bush can be urged to intervene.

The Unalienable Right:

“The activist liberal 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has essentially sided with those who want to destroy the Mt. Soledad war memorial.

He obviously has a lot on his plate right now, but it would be great if the president stepped in to help save the war memorial. All of our civilization’s enemies aren’t over in the Middle East.”

More from this press release:

“The national Catholic based advocacy group Fidelis delivered an impassioned letter Friday to the White House urging President Bush to intervene in the 16-year-long legal dispute over the Mt. Soledad Veterans Memorial. The 52-year-old veterans memorial outside San Diego has been under attack by an anti-Christian atheist because the memorial includes a 29-foot cross.”

Thomas More Law Center wants your help. You can use their easy form petition to send an email directly to President Bush.

Please help the Thomas More Law Center (TMLC) and other concerned groups and citizens to save the 43-foot cross that was erected atop Mount Soledad in San Diego, California 50 years ago to honor our nation’s veterans by signing the petition below! On May 3, 2006 Federal District Judge Gordon Thompson ordered San Diego officials to remove the historic Mt. Soledad Cross in accordance with an order he issued in 1991. The City must remove the cross within 90 days or face fines of $5,000 per day thereafter. However, the fight is not over.

Ask President Bush to take the land under the federal government’s powers of eminent domain.

SIGN OUR PETITION TO STOP TAXPAYER FUNDING OF THE ACLU

» Filed Under 1st Amendment, ACLU, Church And State, News, PETITIONS

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Comments

One Response to “Mt. Soledad Case Goes To Supreme Court”

kerwin_brown on June 25th, 2006 12:50 am

Anthony Kennedy is a activist libertarian that believes strongly in the separation of church and state. Forget the Constitution which he has ignored in the past. If they can play his support of seperation of church and state off against his support of corporations or against his libertarianism then they have a good chance of getting the stay or having the whole court vote on it. Otherwise I do not see it happening.