Kennedy trying to redeem himself? LOL
good news
Keep the courts in mind when people say that Bush didn't/doesn't make a difference.
Doesn't mean much; this just preserves the "status quo" until the next action by the Supremes. SC is out of session for the summer, but even then individual justices take action on things like this routinely. You cannot read this action as either pro or con on the merits of the case. Still, I hope the cross wins!
Is Philip Paulson any relation to the new Fed Chairman Paulson?
From the Thomas More Law Center
Supreme Court Asked To Stay Lower Court Order To Remove the Mt. Soledad Cross
Thu, Jun 29, 2006
ANN ARBOR, MI – The Thomas More Law Center, this morning, filed an emergency application in the U.S. Supreme Court asking Associate Justice Anthony M. Kennedy to stay a lower federal court decision that orders the City of San Diego to remove the Mt. Soledad Cross by August 1st or face fines of $5,000 a day thereafter. The City has indicated that unless the legal situation changes, it will comply with the lower court order to remove the cross and will begin plans to implement that order beginning in the first week of July. The Thomas More Law Center, a national public interest law firm based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, filed the emergency application for stay on behalf of San Diegans for the Mt. Soledad National War Memorial, the organization that spearheaded the highly successful referendary petition drive that resulted in the City Council repealing its March 8, 2005 vote not to transfer the memorial property to the federal government.
Richard Thompson, President and Chief Counsel for the Law Center commented, “The legislative actions of area Congressmen and the grass roots efforts of San Diegans for the Mt. Soledad National War Memorial have kept the cross atop Mt. Soledad. We are now, however, at a critical stage, and time is running out.”
The Law Center’s emergency application explained that this case presents a serious question regarding the place of religious symbols in the public life of our nation.
The Law Center argued, “Removing the memorial cross, which has been displayed continuously in its present location since 1954, would destroy the integrity of the Veterans Memorial, undermine the state court proceeding, and cause irreparable harm to Applicant, the citizens of San Diego, and the many family members, friends, and comrades of the nearly two thousand veterans who are honored by this memorial for their sacrificial service to this country. It would be a national tragedy to tear down the memorial cross, which is scheduled to occur on or before August 1, 2006, absent a stay.”
Charles LiMandri, the West Coast Regional Director for the Thomas More Law Center, commented, “The Mt. Soledad Cross and Memorial represents the sacrifices our veterans and their families have made and the gratitude that we, as a community and a nation, have for them. They fought hard for our freedoms. We will fight hard to preserve them.”
In addition to the emergency application to the Supreme Court, the Law Center is also involved in appeals to the federal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and the California Court of Appeals, to save the cross.
On Monday evening U.S. Congressman Duncan Hunter introduced House Bill 5683, which mandates the federal government take over the memorial and transfer it to the Defense department. Representative Darrell Issa and newly elected Representative Brian Bilbray are co-sponsors of that legislation. However, it will be a difficult undertaking to move the bill through both the House of Representatives and the Senate for signature of the President before the August 1st deadline.
In addition to the numerous legal steps the 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.
Explained Thompson, “Our legal team is pursuing every possible legal option to save the Mt. Soledad Cross, including an appeal to President Bush and Congress to take the land under the federal powers of eminent domain. Our veterans deserve it.”
The DUmmies are ready to hitch a tow-truck to it and pull it down.
On Kennedy: I suspect and hope that he'll gradually become a more conservative judge with Alito and Roberts on the court. He seems to be the kind of guy who generally goes with the crowd, which he thinks makes him look good. With the 4 libs + equally mushy O'Connor + the liberal in-crowd of Washington, he usually drifted down the leftist stream with them. However, with 4 conservatives and 4 liberals on either side of him, he now sees himself (correctly, I'm afraid) as the true swing vote. He wants to keep that status, so he has to vote conservative at least 40% of the time. Otherwise, he'd just be another court liberal and lose his swing vote status. Also, the combined tidal force of Alito, Roberts, Scalia, and Thomas may be enough to pull him towards a conservative point of view on many issues.
This is why replacing a coservative with a liberal or visa-versa does more than just change one vote; it can affect the entire makeup of the court.
Amazing! This is stunning and welcome news.
Let's hope this isn't just a "tease" by the SCOTUS...and have them come back and uphold the lower court's decision.
How in the heck can that be unconstitutional? The City of San Diego owns the land on which the cross sits. The people of San Diego ARE the city. If they want to transfer the land to the federal government, assuming the feds agree to take it, then where the heck does this judge get off intervening, let alone declaring a transfer of property rights unconstitutional?
Believe me, I want to use language far stronger than heck.
Good one here.
I bet Roger Hedgecock is pleased....he always talks about this case when he sits in for Rush....
The inanimate object of a cross does not say it establishes one religion over another.This is just the twisted interpretation of a God hating judge.The founding fathers said this country was founded on judaeo/ christian principles so therefore it is perfectly correct for the government to promote religion.The government collects taxes from religious people and spends it on government things and religious people vote so in reality,you cannot have a seperation of church and state.
That's great news! Kennedy huh, isn't he supposedly the new Sandra Day O'Connor bad boy swing justice though. His decision just doesn't fit with the liberal agenda.
NEWS ALERTSupreme Court Asked To Stay Lower Court Order To Remove the Mt. Soledad Cross
ANN ARBOR, MI – The Thomas More Law Center, this morning, filed an emergency application in the U.S. Supreme Court asking Associate Justice Anthony M. Kennedy to stay a lower federal court decision that orders the City of San Diego to remove the Mt. Soledad Cross by August 1st or face fines of $5,000 a day thereafter. The City has indicated that unless the legal situation changes, it will comply with the lower court order to remove the cross and will begin plans to implement that order beginning in the first week of July.
The Thomas More Law Center, a national public interest law firm based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, filed the emergency application for stay on behalf of San Diegans for the Mt. Soledad National War Memorial, the organization that spearheaded the highly successful referendary petition drive that resulted in the City Council repealing its March 8, 2005 vote not to transfer the memorial property to the federal government.
Richard Thompson, President and Chief Counsel for the Law Center commented, “The legislative actions of area Congressmen and the grass roots efforts of San Diegans for the Mt. Soledad National War Memorial have kept the cross atop Mt. Soledad. We are now, however, at a critical stage, and time is running out.”
The Law Center’s emergency application explained that this case presents a serious question regarding the place of religious symbols in the public life of our nation.
The Law Center argued, “Removing the memorial cross, which has been displayed continuously in its present location since 1954, would destroy the integrity of the Veterans Memorial, undermine the state court proceeding, and cause irreparable harm to Applicant, the citizens of San Diego, and the many family members, friends, and comrades of the nearly two thousand veterans who are honored by this memorial for their sacrificial service to this country. It would be a national tragedy to tear down the memorial cross, which is scheduled to occur on or before August 1, 2006, absent a stay.”
Charles LiMandri, the West Coast Regional Director for the Thomas More Law Center, commented, “The Mt. Soledad Cross and Memorial represents the sacrifices our veterans and their families have made and the gratitude that we, as a community and a nation, have for them. They fought hard for our freedoms. We will fight hard to preserve them.”
In addition to the emergency application to the Supreme Court, the Law Center is also involved in appeals to the federal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and the California Court of Appeals, to save the cross.
On Monday evening U.S. Congressman Duncan Hunter introduced House Bill 5683, which mandates the federal government take over the memorial and transfer it to the Defense department.
Representative Darrell Issa and newly elected Representative Brian Bilbray are co-sponsors of that legislation. However, it will be a difficult undertaking to move the bill through both the House of Representatives and the Senate for signature of the President before the August 1st deadline.
In addition to the numerous legal steps the 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: http://www.thomasmore.org/
Explained Thompson, “Our legal team is pursuing every possible legal option to save the Mt. Soledad Cross, including an appeal to President Bush and Congress to take the land under the federal powers of eminent domain. Our veterans deserve it.”
Good job, Kennedy! If folks will remember the 10 Commandments case last term, Kennedy was on the side of the good guys in that one. Although he's very much against religion in schools, he seems to be far more accepting of religious symbols on public property than Sandra ever was.