After more than 18 years of litigation in federal and state courts, an epic battle over the well-known Mount Soledad cross war memorial in San Diego appears to have turned the corner.
Federal Judge Larry Burns issued a 19-page order Wednesday, agreeing with the Pacific Justice Institute that most of the claims in the case are no longer valid. He dismissed the city of San Diego as a defendant. The court also took the opportunity to note that there is nothing inherently wrong with a cross on public land.
The case started with a lawsuit from two atheists, who claimed the 29-foot cross violated their constitutional rights.
San Diego ran out of options last year in the courts, which told them they had to remove the cross from city land. Congress stepped in and acquired the land and the memorial through eminent domain as a national war memorial — which prompted another lawsuit.
Brad Dacus, president of the Pacific Justice Institute, said, "This case has huge implications not only for San Diego and the West Coast, but for the entire nation. We will continue to fight until we obtain a final judgment that this time-honored war memorial — like the fallen soldiers it honors — can rest in peace."
