SAN DIEGO — A California appeals court today reversed a lower court decision that had determined that the transfer of the Mt. Soledad National War Memorial to the federal government was unconstitutional.
“The people spoke on this issue, and now the court has upheld their right to preserve the Mt. Soledad National War Memorial, which honors those who sacrificed themselves for our freedom,” said Alliance Defense Fund Litigation Counsel Tim Chandler. “Removal of the cross at Mt. Soledad would have no purpose other than to create heartache for the veterans’ families and comrades who cherish their memory. We, like them, are pleased with the court’s ruling.”
ADF represented The American Legion Department of California and Liberty Legal Institute represented The American Legion’s national organization in the friend-of-the-court brief filed in the case. On Nov. 22, ADF and Liberty Legal Institute attorneys filed a friend-of-the-court brief on behalf of the American Legion and the American Legion Department of California in a related case involving the memorial in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit (
www.telladf.org/news/story.aspx?cid=3932) and the U.S. Supreme Court (
www.telladf.org/news/story.aspx?cid=3790).
In 2005, 76 percent of San Diegans voted to preserve the Mount Soledad Memorial by transferring it from city property to the ownership of the National Park Service. The transfer was held up in litigation, but Congress passed and President Bush signed legislation to enact the transfer.
The full text of the ruling in
Paulson v. Abdelnour from the California Court of Appeal, 4th Appellate District, Division 1, can be read at
www.telladf.org/UserDocs/AbdelnourOpinion.pdf.
A copy of the friend-of-the-court brief filed in the case can be read at
www.telladf.org/UserDocs/AbdelnourAmicus.pdf.
ADF is a legal alliance defending the right to hear and speak the Truth through strategy, training, funding, and litigation.
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