Focus on Mount Soledad Cross and analyze the Legal challenges timeline.
May 31, 1989: Philip Paulson sues the City of San Diego to remove the Soledad Cross
December 3, 1991: United States District Court for the Southern District of California, ruled in favor Paulson
June 2, 1992: San Diego voters approved Proposition F, which allowed sale of the cross to a non-profit corporation
September 18, 1997, Judge Thompson ruled that the sale violated the California Constitution
1998: the City attempted to sell the land to a private group again
2000: Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals found that the City's sale of the cross violated the California Constitution
2003: the Supreme Court denied defendants' petitions for review
November 2004: voters rejected a ballot measure to authorize a third sale of the land
July 26, 2005: voters approve Proposition A, a ballot measure to transfer the property to the Interior Department
October 7, 2005: Judge Cowett found the ballot measure unconstitutional
July 2006: the Supreme Court issues a stay which stops a court order forcing imminent removal of the cross
August 14, 2006: President George W. Bush signed a law that would transfer the cross to the Interior Department
January 2011: the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled the transfer unconstitutional
June 25, 2012: the Supreme Court denied certiorari to hear the case
July 20, 2015: Mt. Soledad Memorial Association reported that it had bought the land under the cross from the Dept. of Defense
September 7, 2016: the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals dismisses the case
certiorari United States District Court for the Southern District of California Philip Paulson United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit California San Diego Supreme Court stay Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals court order Interior Department ballot measure California Constitution