San Diego Mayor: Appeal Cross Decision to SCOTUS
In an update to the story from earlier this week, in which the 9th Circuit rejected an appeal that would have left the Mt. Soledad memorial cross on public land, the San Diego mayor - who has vowed to follow the court order if no appellate relief is granted - announced his intention to appeal the decision to the Supreme Court.
The latest maneuver continues the 17-year saga over the cross, which Philip Paulson, an atheist Vietnam veteran, sued to have removed in 1989. The city has fought to keep the cross where it is and has continually lost in court, racking up hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal bills.
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If the Supreme Court agrees to hear the case, it probably would order a temporary suspension of Thompson's order, [city attorney Michael] Aguirre said.That also would keep alive a separate appeal in state courts.
In that case, Paulson sued the city over a July 2005 vote in which 76 percent of voters backed keeping the cross in place by donating the land beneath it to the federal government.
San Diego Superior Court Judge Patricia Yim Cowett found the vote and the ordinance that made it possible was unconstitutional.