SUPREME COURT ISSUES STAY IN SAN DIEGO CROSS CASE - High court intervenes in fight over cross

AP ^ | 7/3/06 | TONI LOCY

[Pukin Dog]

WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court intervened Monday to save a large cross on city property in southern California.

A lower court judge had ordered the city of San Diego to remove the cross or be fined $5,000 a day.

Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, acting for the high court, issued a stay while supporters of the cross continue their legal fight.

Lawyers for San Diegans for the Mt. Soledad National War Memorial said in an appeal that they wanted to avoid the "destruction of this national treasure." And attorneys for the city said the cross was part of a broader memorial that was important to the community.

The 29-foot cross, on San Diego property, sits atop Mount Soledad. A judge declared it was an unconstitutional endorsement of religion.

The cross, which has been in place for decades, was contested by Philip Paulson, a Vietnam veteran and atheist.

Three years ago, the Supreme Court had refused to get involved in the long-running dispute between Paulson and the city.

Kennedy granted the stay to the city and the cross' supporters without comment pending a further order from him or the entire court.

The cross was dedicated in 1954 as a memorial to Korean War veterans, and a private association maintains a veterans memorial on the land surrounding it.

Mayor Jerry Sanders has argued that the cross, sitting atop Mt. Soledad in La Jolla, is an integral part of the memorial and deserves the same exemptions to government-maintained religious symbols as those granted to other war monuments.

In May, U.S. District Court Judge Gordon Thompson, Jr., ordered the city to take down the 29-foot cross before Aug. 2 or pay daily fines of $5,000.

Thompson's ruling, which he described as "long overdue," found the cross to be an unconstitutional display of government preference of one religion over another.

Last year, San Diego voters overwhelmingly approved a ballot proposition to transfer the land beneath the cross to the federal government. The measure was designed to absolve the city of responsibility for the cross under the existing lawsuit. But a California Superior Court judge found the proposition to be unconstitutional.

[b9]

Howdy, onyx !
Much too late
for clever poetry to rate.

Can hardly see the fuzzy screen
So nitey nite ~ arf weeder zeen!

zzzzzzzzzzzzz

[onyx]

Aw, that's very cute.
Busy, sweet you.
G'Nite DL.

[HighWheeler]

OK I'll try a couple:


Soledad Attack
Evil lurks against freedom
God shall intervene



A cross is a tall plus sign
Won't hurt anyone
The judge hates mathematics



Liberals are good
War memorials are bad
Lib judges are dopes

[BigFinn]

Mount Soledad Cross and Memorial.

In addition to the numerous legal steps the Thomas Moore Law Center is taking to prevent removal of the memorial cross by August 1st, the Law Center is also asking all Americans to join in the effort to urge President Bush to immediately use the federal powers of eminent domain to take the land on which the cross and memorial sit by signing a petition to the President contained on its website at: www.thomasmore.org

[Tamzee]

Am thrilled to see you guys again, too :-)

And WE weren't writing clever rhymes, doodlelady was and I was always just bumbling along being silly LOL

I'm going to stay "back" now, but I can't be on often, sniff.... as long as you guys don't mind me popping in back and forth after being MIA for several days in between? And I'm totally useless now! I can't devote enough time to stay on top of issues and breaking details... I can't even remember the HTML tags, gonna have to take some time and go visit the sandbox like a newbie ;-)

I can't stand being away any more, though, I keep telling folks about Free Republic and how this place has the absolute purest-goldest, brilliantest people on the planet... and then I'm sad all the time for not coming here myself to see you all.

Anyways, to make a long story short... you're stuck with me again ;-)

[Tamzee]

While all are brilliant
The mathematics one
Should be a tagline :-)

[Brian Allen]

Wonder why the city/county doesn't stick a covenant-in-perpetuity on the paperwork and sell it to a private owner {A Trust, maybe?] for a Dollar?

[HiTech RedNeck]

She's kvetching about the city "losing valuable land." So could there be a swap. Congress gives a parcel of equal value to Sandy Eggo while claiming this one.

[FastCoyote]

A way around all of this is for a group to create "The Church of Atheism", complete with tax exempt status. Then promoting atheism would be promoting a religion.

[right-wingin_It]

It's about that time, aint it?? The only reasons holding lib SCOTUS back from retiring are 1) Republican in office and 2)Two appointments in the last year. Then again, Stevens said he wanted to go out with a Republican in office didn't he (or was that a rumor)?

JRB would be the center jewel of a Presidential legacy for nominating 3 quality justices to the SCOTUS.

[JCEccles]

IF these daily fines were imposed, which of the many government agencies would get the money?

Actually, it would be paid into the black hole of the miscellaneous receipts account of the United States Treasury. Given the trillion dollar budget deficit, the money wouldn't be available for anything. The judge might just as well have ordered the city to set fire to 250 twenty dollar bills a day.

[Sender]

This case is really a key decision. If the courts allow this sacred monument to be torn down due to the complaints of one man, it is time to go ballistic.

Literally.

[Eagles Talon IV]

I believe the stay was issued in anticipation of the case being heard by the USSC. If so the stay remains until they decide on the outcome.

[maica]

It already is a religion, - that is the entire point of Ann Coulter's latest book.

It is up to us to be an anti-ACLU, and call them on their "religious" posture every single time they use the courts against other religions.

[maica]

Wonderful tagline! I think we should start referring to the Mount Soledad cross as a concrete sculpture of the Modern Abstract Period. If dung on a piece of canvas is considered art, why is not a series of flat concrete slabs, erected on the top of a hill! It is the IDEA of a cross that Christophobics hate. They squealed when they thought they saw the form of a cross on the podium at the last Republican National Convention. They are irrational and need to be labelled so.

[phillyfanatic]

A stay is not the solution. This issue needs a full Court exam to finally allow symbols that cities or states want allowed.

[Sun]

I received this from afa.org:

If the ACLU wins, it will mean that every cross in every federal or
state cemetery will eventually be removed. Don't let it happen! Under
Section Three, Article Two of the U.S. Constitution Congress can pass
a law prohibiting federal judges from having any jurisdiction over
federal cemeteries.

If the ACLU is allowed to pursue this anti-Christian bigotry
unchecked, the 9000 white crosses at Normandy Beach could soon
disappear. The words on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington
will be open for removal: "Here rests in honored glory an American
soldier known but to God."

Take Action

Please ask your Senators to sponsor a law protecting the crosses in
all federal cemeteries and use Article Three, Section Two to remove
jurisdiction from federal judges.

Send your letter today! It will go directly to your two U.S. Senators
and President Bush. And please forward this to others as we honor our
heroes who have given so much so that we can enjoy the freedoms we
have.

Click Here to Send Your Letter Now!
http://www.capwiz.com/afanet/issues/alert/?alertid=8890016

[Recovering_Democrat]

The cross, which has been in place for decades, was contested by Philip Paulson, a Vietnam veteran and atheist.

HOW CAN THEY ARGUE WITH A VIETNAM VETERAN???
< \SARCASM>

[Recovering_Democrat]

In May, U.S. District Court Judge Gordon Thompson, Jr., ordered the city to take down the 29-foot cross before Aug. 2 or pay daily fines of $5,000.

Clintoon Judge, right?

[Edgerunner]

I is preposterous state of affairs when one "person" can hold a city hostage. Paulson should be made to pay all expenses for the trial if the judgment is against him.