Justice Anthony Kennedy has granted a temporary stay on the removal of a controversial war monument featuring a 29-foot cross atop Mount Soledad. This appears to indicate a renewed interest in the case on behalf of the Supreme Court, which refused to intervene three years ago:

The Supreme Court intervened Monday to stop, at least for now, the removal of a large cross from 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 Mount 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 the cross, a symbol of Christianity, was an unconstitutional endorsement of one religion over another.

The plaintiffs may have preferred that the Supreme Court of three years ago would review this case. This new panel seems less likely to associate a cross in a national cemetary as an endorsement of a particular religion, even a 29-foot cross. This monument has been on Mt. Soledad for over 50 years and is an obvious landmark to residents of Southern California. The new court, with the addition of John Roberts and Samuel Alito and the subtraction of Sandra Day O'Connor, will no doubt have more sympathy to reality and not to the hypersensitivity of one atheist in San Diego.

Trackback Pings

TrackBack URL for this entry is

Listed below are links to weblogs that reference Court Grants Stay On San Diego Cross:

» Taliban Regime Temporarily Halts Plans To Destroy Precious Religious Idol from Point Five
...Although radical Islamist thought considers all forms of imagery to be idolatry, enlightened activists, bravely spearheaded by the valiant ACLU, fought hard to preserve the ancient treasures.... [Read More]

Tracked on July 3, 2006 6:55 PM

» Mt. Soledad memorial cross to stand…for now from Stop The ACLU
Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy issued a stay minutes ago, ordering that the memorial not be desecrated until all legal options are exhausted. Update/correction: Kennedy granted the stay to the city and the cross’ supporters without commen... [Read More]

Tracked on July 3, 2006 6:58 PM

» Mt. Soledad cross granted temporary reprieve from The Unalienable Right
The U.S. Supreme Court has intervened to stop the Mt. Soledad war memorial cross from being torn down. The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday put on hold an order to remove a monumental cross that sits on public land, giving hope to supporters just weeks be... [Read More]

Tracked on July 3, 2006 9:20 PM

» SCOTUS: Mount Soledad Cross can Stay from Cyber-Conservative
Imagine the atheist lefties frothing at the mouth over this story:

SAN DIEGO - The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday put on hold an order to remov...

Tracked on July 3, 2006 10:59 PM

» Good News for the Cross at National War Memorial from Assorted Babble by Suzie
The Supreme Court intervened and issued a stay (while the supporters continued their legal fight)....for the large cross at Mount Soledad National War Memorial in San Diego. [Read More]

Tracked on July 4, 2006 7:58 AM