Today's San Diego Union Tribune reports that Philip Paulson, plaintiff in the long-running litigation challenging the constitutionality of the Mt. Soledad cross, has been diagnosed with terminal liver cancer. Paulson's lawyer, James McElroy, said yesterday another plaintiff, Vietnam war veteran Steve Trunk, will be added to the case so that it can continue if Paulson dies. City Attorney Michael Aguirre said he would not oppose adding Trunk as a plaintiff, saying "It's an important issue and it needs to be resolved. We seek justice based on the merits. Seeking to take a cheap procedural advantage due to someone's health would not likely be viewed favorably by the court."
While Paulson said he expected that someone would say that this is God's revenge on him, Charles LiMandri of San Diegans for the Mt. Soledad National War Memorial had a much more charitable reaction: "We'll certainly keep him in our prayers. We don't have any ill will toward anyone. We wish he would spend his time more productively than pursuing this lawsuit. We feel his time could have been better spent."
