Mt. Soledad Cross Challenge Back In Court

After 19 years of litigation, the Mt. Soledad Cross in San Diego (CA) is still in court. Yesterday a California federal district court heard arguments in a case brought by the Jewish War Veterans. (See prior related posting.) Yesterday's San Diego Union-Tribune reports that now the litigation is against the U.S. Defense Department that took ownership of the memorial from the state of California in 2006. The issue seems to be whether Congress in enacting legislation to take title to the property was motivated by a desire to preserve a religious symbol, or instead more broadly to preserve a war memorial. Recently plaques and walls have been placed around the Cross to honor deceased veterans. Plaintiffs say these are merely tokens designed to fend off an Establishment Clause challenge.