2007
February 21, 2007 the California Supreme Court, affirmed the precedent-setting decision of the California 4th District appellate court, which upheld the right of the people of San Diego to transfer the Mt. Soledad veterans memorial to the federal government. At the same time, the Court denied the plaintiffs' objection to publication of the lower court decision favorable to the cross and veterans memorial. Unpublished decisions are non-precedential.
October 12, 2007 the ACLU of San Diego & Imperial Counties on behalf of the Jewish War Veterans of the United States, Richard A. Smith, Mina Sagheb, and Judith M. Copeland, filed a motion for Summary Judgement with the Southern District Court of California. The motion requests the immediate removal of the cross for the reasons noted: the Federal Government’s actions with respect to the cross have the effect of advancing or endorsing a religion; the Federal taking and display of the Mt. Soledad cross lacks a valid secular purpose; and finally, the Federal Government’s display of the cross creates an excessive entanglement with a religion.
A federal court judge on November 8, 2007 dismissed the lawsuit filed against the City of San Diego involving the Mt. Soledad Veterans War Memorial. The Federal government had acquired the memorial property from the City via eminent domain on August 14, 2006. In dismissing the lawsuit against the City, the federal court agreed that the City should be dismissed from the lawsuit because the federal government owns the memorial property. Now that the City has been dismissed from the lawsuit, the lawsuit will proceed only against the federal government.
Read more about this topic: Mount Soledad Cross Controversy