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A project of Common Dreams

For Immediate Release
Contact:

Gordon Smith or Rachel Uranga, ACLU of Southern California, (213) 977-5252   
James Freedland, ACLU national, (212) 519-7829 or 549-2666; media@aclu.org

Supreme Court Agrees to Hear Religious Display Case

Judges Should Affirm That Large Cross in National Preserve Violates First Amendment, ACLU Says

WASHINGTON

The Supreme Court today agreed to hear a challenge to a congressional law allowing an eight-foot-tall Latin cross to remain in the Mojave National Preserve by transferring ownership of an acre of land within the preserve to the local chapter of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, which is now defunct. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit agreed with the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California that this transfer of federal land did not eliminate the government's endorsement of religion, and thus did not solve the Establishment Clause violation that the lower courts had already found. The government appealed that decision.

The following should be attributed to Peter Eliasberg, managing attorney with the ACLU of Southern California:

"We are disappointed that the Supreme Court agreed to review this case, but not surprised given that it challenges a congressional statute. The appeals court rightly found that the statute did not solve the Establishment Clause problem created by a large cross in the midst of a National Preserve; in fact, it compounded the problem by continuing to favor this one religious symbol that had already been granted unique access to federal property. We are hopeful that the Supreme Court will affirm the appeals court's decision and send a clear message that the federal government must not endorse one religion over another."

The American Civil Liberties Union was founded in 1920 and is our nation's guardian of liberty. The ACLU works in the courts, legislatures and communities to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to all people in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States.

(212) 549-2666