Judge Rules City of San Diego Rightful Owner of Mt. Soledad

For those who may have heard of the controversy surrounding the 43-foot cross that has stood on the mountaintop of Mt Soledad for over 50 years, I received this update this morning:

RANCHO SANTA FE, CA —A federal judge ruled late Tuesday that the contested land atop Mt. Soledad in San Diego, California is rightfully owned by the City of San Diego. Tuesday’s decision effectively puts a stop to plans by the Mt. Soledad Memorial Association to remove a 43-foot cross that has stood on the mountaintop for over 50 years.

The veterans group had privately agreed with an ACLU backed atheist to remove the cross in exchange for a halt to his 15-year old lawsuit aimed at tearing down the cross. San Diego voters will now vote in November on whether to authorize a new sale of the land to a private owner that would have the option of preserving the cross.

The West Coast Regional office of the Thomas More Law Center had filed a brief in federal court challenging the attempt by the Memorial Association to remove the cross. The Law Center’s brief was filed on behalf of a former Navy fighter pilot who is enlisting the support of other veterans to oppose removal of the cross.

Richard Thompson, Chief Counsel of the Thomas More Law Center, commented on the judge’s ruling, “We are tremendously pleased with the Judge’s decision. Hopefully, the Memorial Association will now re-examine its private deal with the plaintiff to remove the cross, and join the fight to preserve it. It would be the right thing to do.”

The cross was erected in 1954 and today honors veterans of World War I and II and the Korean War. The San Diego landmark has been the subject of a fifteen-year court battle between an atheist and the City of San Diego. The City has twice attempted to sell the land containing the cross, the second time to the Mt. Soledad Memorial Association in 1998.

After taking possession of the property, the veterans group invested hundreds of thousands of dollars in improvements to the land, adding landscaping and over 3000 plaques honoring military veterans, only to have the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals rule the sale unconstitutional. The leadership of the Memorial Association, to the dismay of many of its members, responded by privately agreeing with an ACLU backed atheist to move the cross 1000 yards down the hill out of full public view.

Anticipating that the land would be returned to the City of San Diego, the Law Center argued that because of the extensive improvements to the property carried out by the Memorial Association, effectively incorporating the historical cross into a war memorial, a new hearing must be held. Law Center attorneys suggested that a new hearing would determine whether the changed circumstances no longer create a Constitutional violation in the form of the government’s endorsement of religion.

The City of San Diego has now proposed “Proposition K” requesting voter authorization to sell the property to a new owner that will have the option of keeping the cross.

Charles S. LiMandri, West Coast Regional Director of the Law Center, observed, “With the City of San Diego now declared the rightful owner of Mt. Soledad, it is critical that Proposition K be passed by two-thirds of the voters. This is the best chance to preserve the cross on top of Mt. Soledad, one of San Diego’s most treasured landmarks.”