Focusing on the Litigation of Mount Soledad Cross, discuss the Case moves to 9th Circuit Court of Appeals about the Federal eminent domain action.
Case moves to 9th Circuit Court of Appeals The two matters on appeal, Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Nos. 08-56415 and 08-56436, were argued on the morning of December 9, 2009.In January 2011, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled the cross unconstitutional. Judge McKeown wrote for the court, "Overall, a reasonable observer viewing the Memorial would be confronted with an initial dedication for religious purposes, its long history of religious use, widespread public recognition of the Cross as a Christian symbol, and the history of religious discrimination in La Jolla." It was a unanimous decision.
"...we conclude that the Memorial, presently configured and as a whole, primarily conveys a message of government endorsement of religion that violates the Establishment Clause. This result does not mean that the Memorial could not be modified to pass constitutional muster nor does it mean that no cross can be part of this veterans’ memorial. We take no position on those issues.
We reverse the grant of summary judgment to the government and remand for entry of summary judgment in favor of the Jewish War Veterans and for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
REVERSED AND REMANDED" —Judge McKeown, opinion for the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
In February 2012, the Liberty Institute, a nonprofit conservative Christian legal group, filed an appeal of the 2011 ruling that found the cross to be unconstitutional.  On March 14, the U.S. Solicitor General joined the appeal.The Supreme Court denied certiorari to hear the case on June 25, 2012. Justice Alito wrote in a personal statement that explained the rejection because the remedy of return to District court for compromise solution had not been attempted. This left the 9th Circuit Court ruling in place, and the issue was returned to federal court for resolution.In December 2013, U.S. District Judge Larry Burns ordered that the cross be removed within 90 days, but stayed the order pending a forthcoming appeal by the government.On June 30, 2014, the Supreme Court denied certiorari before judgement. Justice Samuel Alito stated in a personal statement that certiorari was not yet warranted because the appeal of Judge Burns' order has not yet been heard by the Court of Appeals. The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2015 contained a provision making space available for the Mt. Soledad Veterans Memorial.
Establishment Clause Liberty Institute certiorari Samuel Alito La Jolla Jewish War Veterans Christian United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit Supreme Court stay Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2015 left