http://www.aclj.org/TrialNotebook/Read.aspx?id=427
Another Win for Mt. Soledad
We applaud a decision by the California Court of Appeals yesterday
overturning a lower court decision that said a ballot proposition by San
Diego voters to donate the property on which the Mt. Soledad Memorial sits
to the federal government was unconstitutional. We filed an amicus brief in
the California case in support of the cross memorial and have filed briefs
at the federal level as litigation continues.
The California appeals court got it right. This decision clearly shows that
the ballot proposition was proper and constitutional in transferring the
land to the federal government. This decision represents another important
legal victory in the ongoing battle to keep the Mt. Soledad Memorial in
place.
In the 53-page decision, the three-judge panel for the California Court of
Appeal for the Fourth Appellate District unanimously held that the trial
court erred in invalidating the ballot proposition which cleared the way for
the City of San Diego to donate the property to the federal government. The
appeals court overturned the trial court decision saying that ballot
proposition did not violate the constitution.
Just two weeks ago, we filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Court of Appeals
for the Ninth Circuit on behalf of 22 members of Congress asking the appeals
court to dismiss a case against the City of San Diego challenging the
memorial because the federal government now owns the land on which the cross
sits.
Included in the 22 members of Congress represented in that brief is
California Congressman Duncan Hunter, who sponsored the federal legislation
that transferred control of the Mt. Soledad Memorial to the federal
government. That legislation was signed into law by President Bush in
August.
The Mount Soledad case has generated national interest as well with more
than 170,000 Americans - including more than 27,000 Californians - signing
on to our Petition to Preserve the Mt. Soledad Veterans Memorial.