Free Republic

San Diego lawyer Jim McElroy insists he isn't terribly bothered by the scathing insults and threats directed his way. A few weeks back, someone wrote him an e-mail telling him to “burn in hell.” Someone else sent a note that opened with the words, “Hey Dumb--- McElroy.” Then there was this message, e-mailed several months ago. “When outraged Americans come and commit justifiable homicide against James McElroy, I'm throwing a party and inviting McElroy's family and friends and co-workers . . . It will be a great festive day!” McElroy has practiced law in San Diego for 19 years, usually...

San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders has indicated that he would fight hard to save the Mount Soledad cross. He also indicated that “The courts have routinely approved secular monuments that have crosses as an element of the (war memorial) monument.” This is not a true statement. There is not one single federal or California case that has ever approved the permanent placement of a cross on federal land, state land or city land, monument or no monument, war memorial or no war memorial. Quite the contrary, there are 10 c ases that have ruled on the permanent presence of crosses...

Stop the ACLU! The ACLU has done it again. In their campaign to rid our country of every vestige of God and Christianity, they have convinced a federal judge to order the removal of a cross from San Diego’s Mount Soledad memorial to heroes of the Korean War. We must fight back to save this religious symbol from demolition! Please read the form carefully and declare your membership with the ACLJ by signing the Petition below. Petition to Save San Diego’s Mount Soledad Cross President George W. Bush Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger of California Mayor Jerry Sanders of San Diego U.S....

Judge threatens fine to enforce '91 ruling By Onell R. Soto UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER May 4, 2006 NELVIN CEPEDA / Union-Tribune The cross was dedicated in 1954 as a war memorial. A federal judge moved to end a 17-year legal saga yesterday by ordering the city of San Diego to remove the Mount Soledad cross from city property within 90 days or be fined $5,000 a day. “It is now time, and perhaps long overdue, for this Court to enforce its initial permanent injunction forbidding the presence of the Mount Soledad Cross on City property,” U.S. District Judge Gordon Thompson...

Ruling on a 15-year-old ACLU case, a federal judge today ordered the city of San Diego to remove a mountain-top cross within 90 days or face a fine of $5,000 a day.U.S. District Judge Gordon Thompson said, "It is now time, and perhaps long overdue, for this court to enforce its initial permanent injunction forbidding the presence of the Mount Soledad cross on city property," the San Diego Union-Tribune reported.

Mt. Soledad cross and veterans memorial above San Diego (soledadmemorial.com) Ruling on a 15-year-old ACLU case, a federal judge today ordered the city of San Diego to remove a mountain-top cross within 90 days or face a fine of $5,000 a day. U.S. District Judge Gordon Thompson said, "It is now time, and perhaps long overdue, for this court to enforce its initial permanent injunction forbidding the presence of the Mount Soledad cross on city property," the San Diego Union-Tribune reported. Thompson ruled in 1991 the Mount Soledad cross violates the so-called "separation of church and state" but the...

federal judge on Wednesday ordered the removal of the Mount Soledad cross from property owned by the city of San Diego within 90 days or he will fine the city $5,000 a day. “It is now time, and perhaps long overdue, for this court to enforce its initial permanent injunction forbidding the presence of the Mount Soledad cross on city property,” said U.S. District Judge Gordon Thompson. Thompson first found the presence of the cross on city property unconstitutional in 1991 because it violated the separation of church and state. Since then, his order, and the issue of the cross,...

SAN DIEGO -- A Superior Court judge has ruled that a proposed transfer of the Mount Soledad Cross to the federal government is unconstitutional. Judge Patricia Cowett found Friday that maintenance of the cross is an "unconstitutional preference of religion." Cowett also said transferring ownership of the 43-foot cross and surrounding property to the federal government is an "unconstitutional aid to religion." "The court hereby finds the ordinance placing Proposition A on the ballot and Proposition A unconstitutional, and therefore invalid and unenforceable. Maintenance of this Latin Cross as it is on the property in question, is found to be...

SAN DIEGO - For more than 50 years, the Mount Soledad cross has stood sentry over this city, a 29-foot-tall white landmark that, from its panoramic perch atop one of the tallest hills for miles around, has played host to weddings, baptisms and quiet contemplation. For 16 years, the Mount Soledad cross, now a part of a Korean War veterans memorial, has been a focus of bitter and still unresolved litigation. "This is the most beautiful piece of land in California, if not the country," said Paul Rodriguez, a resident smitten one afternoon by the exhilarating wind-swept views of the...

RANCHO SANTA FE, CA — For sixteen years atheist, Phillip Paulson, claiming he wants to maintain neutrality between government and religion, has been waging an unrelenting war against the Mt. Soledad Cross that is the centerpiece of the historic Veterans Memorial in San Diego. However, Paulson’s comments on the website of the Atheist Coalition of San Diego reveals his true motivation is hatred for Christianity. Paulson goes so far as to state; “We need to attack Jesus…” Those comments, followed by vulgar remarks about Christ, God and the Virgin Mary are so crude and offensive that the Thomas More Law...

Judge halts Mount Soledad cross transfer          By Jennifer Vigil and Karen Kucher UNION-TRIBUNE 12:41 p.m. September 2, 2005 JAMES BAIRD / Union-Tribune As votes were counted in the July 26 special election, the setting sun illuminated the cross on Mount Soledad. SAN DIEGO – A Superior Court judge on Friday issued a temporary restraining order barring the city from transferring the Mount Soledad cross to the federal government under the deal voters overwhelmingly approved in San Diego's July special election. Judge Patricia Yim Cowett issued a tentative 34-page ruling in the case, which questioned the constitutionality of Proposition...

...In the election last Tuesday, 76 percent of voters approved the transfer. Despite the vote, the fight isn't over. City Attorney Michael Aguirre told The San Diego Union Tribune that it would be unconstitutional for the city to transfer the cross to the government because it would be done primarily to preserve a religious symbol. Lawsuits are still pending after the November vote, alleging the ballot measure was illegal. If a judge agrees, the whole fight could start over. That could be bad news for the cross display. Some citizens don't want to waste any more resources trying to keep...

With the majority of precincts reporting, San Diegans voted overwhelmingly yesterday to transfer the historic Mount Soledad cross site to the federal government. The site contains a 43-foot concrete cross that has been at the center of the controversy since a 1989 lawsuit. The city-owned land has long been recognized locally as a war memorial. Surrounding the cross are more than 1,600 plaques commemorating military veterans who have participated in the defense of America. By attaching an amendment to a military appropriations bill last November, area congressmen Duncan Hunter and Randy "Duke" Cunningham provided a way where a federal transfer...

SAN DIEGO – A ballot measure to preserve the Mount Soledad cross on public land in La Jolla easily surpassed the two-thirds support it needed for approval Tuesday night. But the voters' decision on Proposition A won't be the final word. The controversy heads back to court next month. Two court dates are scheduled in the next three weeks. A Superior Court judge will examine the ballot measure's constitutionality Aug. 12, and a federal judge will hear cross-related arguments Aug. 15. The proposition calls for the San DiegoCity Council to give the 29-foot cross, a concentric set of granite walls...

A ballot measure to preserve the Mount Soledad cross on public land in La Jolla easily surpassed the two-thirds support it needed for approval Tuesday night. But the voters' decision on Proposition A won't be the final word. The controversy heads back to court next month. Two court dates are scheduled in the next three weeks. A Superior Court judge will examine the ballot measure's constitutionality Aug. 12, and a federal judge will hear cross-related arguments Aug. 15. The proposition calls for the San Diego City Council to give the 29-foot cross, a concentric set of granite walls and the...

San Diegans vote to save cross 75% resist ACLU effort to remove historic structure -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Posted: July 27, 2005 12:44 a.m. Eastern © 2005 WorldNetDaily.com Mt. Soledad cross and veterans memorial above San Diego (soledadmemorial.com) After 15 years of adverse court rulings, the citizens of San Diego voted to save the city's historic Mt. Soledad cross.

About 50 people rallied at the Mount Soledad cross yesterday in support of Proposition A, a measure on tomorrow's ballot aimed at preserving the symbol on public land. ... Attorney James McElroy says the transfer would be unconstitutional. He and his client, atheist and veteran Philip Paulson, want the cross moved. On Thursday, a judge said passage of Proposition A required more than a simple majority because the city charter requires two-thirds approval for any change in use of public parkland and Congress cannot guarantee that the memorial would remain in perpetuity. ...

The campaign to keep the Mount Soledad cross in La Jolla suffered a setback yesterday when a judge said a ballot measure aimed at preserving the cross requires two-thirds approval from San Diego voters Tuesday. The higher threshold, coming five days before the special election, casts doubt on the prospects for a measure that previously seemed destined for approval.

SAN DIEGO – A judge ruled Wednesday that a proposal to keep a 43-foot cross atop Mount Soledad by having the city of San Diego donate surrounding land to the federal government may be placed on the July 26 ballot. "This is a proper subject to place before the voters," Judge Patricia Yim Cowett said after listening to oral arguments. The judge asked for further briefing on whether the city was the actual owner of the land and if it was, whether it could donate the property to the federal government. If there was a change in the way the...

A twist in the Mount Soledad cross saga pits the lawyer fighting to move the towering symbol against a fresh foe: Padres broadcaster Jerry Coleman. Coleman wants to sign the ballot argument in support of keeping the cross on its La Jolla hilltop. But attorney Jim McElroy has asked a Superior Court judge to rewrite the argument, which McElroy claims is misleading, and exclude Coleman's signature because he missed a filing deadline by one week. The argument is the latest in a 16-year court battle. On July 26, San Diegans will vote on a successor to Mayor Dick Murphy, who...