Mt. Soledad cross supporters want case sent directly to Supreme Court

LA JOLLA (CNS) – Lawyers for the Mt. Soledad Memorial Association Tuesday
filed a petition to send a long-running court battle over the fate of a 43-foot
cross in the hills above La Jolla directly to the U.S. Supreme Court.

The association is appealing a recent district court order to have the
cross removed. The nation's high court refused to hear the case two years ago.

Judge Larry Burns issued his order in December in response to a 2011
decision by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, which ruled that the memorial
violates the First Amendment. The judge stayed his order until all appeals are
exhausted.

“Due to the unique circumstances and the gravity of the Mt. Soledad
Veterans Memorial case, we wanted to give the Supreme Court an opportunity to
take the case now if they choose — since they will be deciding it
eventually,” said Kelly Shackelford, president and CEO of the Liberty
Institute, which has taken up the association's cause.

“We are hopeful that, once and for all, the court will settle this
question of the constitutionality of the Mt. Soledad Veterans Memorial, as the
fate of hundreds of other similar veterans memorials hang in the balance,”
Shackelford said.

Association President and CEO Bruce Bailey said members of his
organization were eager to see the case go before the high court.

Erected in 1954, the memorial is the nation's oldest Korean War Veterans
Memorial, containing more than 3,300 plaques honoring the sacrifice and
service of members of the armed forces.

The memorial association indicated after Burns' ruling that it would
appeal the decision by Burns, who noted his disagreement with the appellate
decision.

The cross has been the subject of legal challenges for the past 24
years. In 2006, the federal government, through an act of Congress, obtained
the title to the cross and its surrounding property by eminent domain, and
declared the cross to be a national war memorial.

The Jewish War Veterans of the United States of America and several
local residents, all of whom were represented by the American Civil Liberties
Union and the ACLU of San Diego and Imperial counties, filed suit that same
year to get the cross taken down.

They contend the memorial should not have one predominant religious
symbol.