Supreme Court Asked To Stay Lower Court Order To Remove the Mt. Soledad Cross
Thu, Jun 29, 2006
ANN ARBOR, MI – The Thomas More Law Center, this morning, filed an emergency application in the U.S. Supreme Court asking Associate Justice Anthony M. Kennedy to stay a lower federal court decision that orders the City of San Diego to remove the Mt. Soledad Cross by August 1st or face fines of $5,000 a day thereafter. The City has indicated that unless the legal situation changes, it will comply with the lower court order to remove the cross and will begin plans to implement that order beginning in the first week of July.
The Thomas More Law Center, a national public interest law firm based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, filed the emergency application for stay on behalf of San Diegans for the Mt. Soledad National War Memorial, the organization that spearheaded the highly successful referendary petition drive that resulted in the City Council repealing its March 8, 2005 vote not to transfer the memorial property to the federal government.
Richard Thompson, President and Chief Counsel for the Law Center commented, “The legislative actions of area Congressmen and the grass roots efforts of San Diegans for the Mt. Soledad National War Memorial have kept the cross atop Mt. Soledad. We are now, however, at a critical stage, and time is running out.”
The Law Center’s emergency application explained that this case presents a serious question regarding the place of religious symbols in the public life of our nation.
The Law Center argued, “Removing the memorial cross, which has been displayed continuously in its present location since 1954, would destroy the integrity of the Veterans Memorial, undermine the state court proceeding, and cause irreparable harm to Applicant, the citizens of San Diego, and the many family members, friends, and comrades of the nearly two thousand veterans who are honored by this memorial for their sacrificial service to this country. It would be a national tragedy to tear down the memorial cross, which is scheduled to occur on or before August 1, 2006, absent a stay.”
Charles LiMandri, the West Coast Regional Director for the Thomas More Law Center, commented, “The Mt. Soledad Cross and Memorial represents the sacrifices our veterans and their families have made and the gratitude that we, as a community and a nation, have for them. They fought hard for our freedoms. We will fight hard to preserve them.”
In addition to the emergency application to the Supreme Court, the Law Center is also involved in appeals to the federal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and the California Court of Appeals, to save the cross.
On Monday evening U.S. Congressman Duncan Hunter introduced House Bill 5683, which mandates the federal government take over the memorial and transfer it to the Defense department. Representative Darrell Issa and newly elected Representative Brian Bilbray are co-sponsors of that legislation. However, it will be a difficult undertaking to move the bill through both the House of Representatives and the Senate for signature of the President before the August 1st deadline.
In addition to the numerous legal steps the Law Center is taking to prevent removal of the memorial cross by August 1st, the Law Center is also asking all Americans to join in the effort to urge President Bush to immediately use the federal powers of eminent domain to take the land on which the cross and memorial sit by signing a petition to the President contained on its website at: www.thomasmore.org.
Explained Thompson, “Our legal team is pursuing every possible legal option to save the Mt. Soledad Cross, including an appeal to President Bush and Congress to take the land under the federal powers of eminent domain. Our veterans deserve it.”
War Hero Urges President Bush to Save the Mt. Soledad Cross and Veterans Memorial
Tue, Jun 27, 2006
ANN ARBOR, MI – Retired Navy Rear Admiral Jeremiah Denton, highly decorated Vietnam War veteran, former POW and former U.S. Senator, in a personal letter sent on June 14th, asked President Bush to save the Mt. Soledad cross, which is the centerpiece of a national war memorial honoring our veterans. Rear Admiral Denton urged the President to consider saving the cross by means of the federal government exercising its power of eminent domain in order to maintain the land as a National monument.
Rear Admiral Denton serves on the Thomas More Law Center Citizens Advisory Board and is responsible for developing strategy. The Thomas More Law Center has been leading the fight to save the Mt. Soledad cross since 2004 after it learned that the 15 year old lawsuit brought by an atheist was about to be settled by the defendants agreeing to remove the cross.
Richard Thompson, President and Chief Counsel for the Law Center commented, “Faced with unsympathetic California judges at both the state and federal level, and the fact that the City of San Diego has been given until August 1st to remove the cross or face fines of $5,000 per day thereafter, President Bush’s intervention may be the only way to prevent removal of the cross. We owe it to our veterans and fallen heroes to do everything we can to preserve this national memorial erected in their honor. Of course, even after federal intervention, the court battle will most likely continue.”
Rear Admiral Denton first came to the American public’s attention in 1966 as a POW during a televised interview by his Communist captors. Before the interview, Denton was tortured and threatened with more torture if he didn’t properly answer their questions regarding alleged American atrocities. Despite those threats, Denton responded in front of the gathered Communist dignitaries, and glaring camera lights, “Whatever the position of my government is, I believe it, I support it, and I will support it as long as I live.” During the televised interview, Rear Admiral Denton blinked his eyes in Morse Code spelling out the message “T-O-R-T-U-R-E,” which was the first confirmation Naval Intelligence had that American POWs in Vietnam were being tortured.
Of the nearly eight years as a POW, Denton served over four years in solitary confinement. As spokesperson for the first group of returning POWs in1973, as he stepped from the plane he was asked to make a statement on behalf of the group. He turned to the microphones and said, “We are honored to have had the opportunity to serve our country under difficult circumstances. We are profoundly grateful to our Commander-in-Chief and our nation for this day. God bless America.”
In his book, “When Hell was in Session,” which chronicles his experience as a POW, Denton describes the importance of his only personal possession as a POW, a cross woven of bamboo strips by a fellow prisoner. Throughout his book, Rear Admiral Denton describes the importance of his Christian faith to his survival as a POW under horrific conditions. The importance of that faith underscores Rear Admiral Denton’s desire to save the memorial cross.
In addition to the numerous legal steps the Law Center is taking to prevent removal of the memorial cross by August 1st, the Law Center is also asking all Americans to join in the effort to urge President Bush to immediately use the federal powers of eminent domain to take the land on which the cross and memorial sit by signing a petition to the President contained on its website at: www.thomasmore.org.
Thomas More Law Center Continues Battle to Prevent Desecration of the Mt. Soledad Veterans Memorial
Mon, Jun 26, 2006
ANN ARBOR, MI – The Thomas More Law Center, a national, public interest law firm, filed an emergency motion to intervene in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit this past Friday, seeking to reverse Federal District Court Judge Gordon Thompson’s May 3rd order to the City of San Diego to remove the Mt. Soledad Veterans Memorial cross by August 1st or face fines of $5,000 per day.
The Law Center’s emergency motion to intervene was filed two days after the Ninth Circuit denied San Diego’s request to stay the removal of the cross. The Court instead expedited the appeal, ordering briefs to be filed by July 19th and setting oral argument for the week of October 16th, two months after the Cross is supposed to be removed. The Law Center filed its emergency motion to intervene so that it can participate in the expedited briefing schedule and argument.
The Law Center also has pending before the Ninth Circuit its own emergency motion to stay the removal of the memorial cross pending resolution of its appeals in both the Ninth Circuit and a parallel state court case. The Ninth Circuit has yet to rule on this stay request.
Richard Thompson, President and Chief Counsel for the Law Center, commented, “We have made a pledge to fight this battle to the end, and we are doing that. Our heroic veterans continue to fight for our freedoms. We owe it to them and their families to continue to fight to preserve this national memorial that was erected in their honor.”
The Law Center’s emergency motion to intervene was filed on behalf of San Diegans for the Mt. Soledad National War Memorial, the organization responsible for Proposition A, a hugely successful referendary petition drive that transfers the memorial to the federal government. Proposition A passed by an overwhelming 76% of the vote in a special election held in July 2005. However, a state court judge halted the implementation of Proposition A, claiming that it violated the California Constitution. Atheist Philip Paulson, the one who challenged the cross in the federal lawsuit, is also challenging Proposition A in the California courts. The Law Center is also appealing the state court ruling.
Charles LiMandri, the West Coast Regional Director for the Law Center, commented, “We will not give up this fight. We will exhaust all options to save the Mt. Soledad veterans memorial. This memorial and what it stands for are too important to lose.”
For further information on the Mt Soledad Cross controversy you may visit the Thomas More Law Center website at www.thomasmore.org.
Ninth Circuit Decides: The Mt. Soledad Cross Will Come Down
Thu, Jun 22, 2006
ANN ARBOR, MI – A three–judge panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has refused to stay Federal District Judge Gordon Thompson’s order to remove the Mt. Soledad Cross pending an appeal. Thus, the City of San Diego must remove the Cross by August 1, 2006, or face fines of $5,000 per day thereafter. In its decision, however, the Ninth Circuit scheduled oral arguments on the matter for the week of October 16, 2006, weeks after the Cross is to be removed. The 43- foot Cross was erected in 1954 and currently is the centerpiece of a national memorial honoring American veterans of all wars.
The Thomas More Law Center, a national public interest law firm based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, has been fighting to save the Cross since 2004 when it received information that the private memorial association operating the memorial site and the City were about to agree to settle the case, which had been on going for 15 years, by removing the Cross.
Richard Thompson, the Law Center’s President and Chief Counsel, commented on the recent order: “It is an outrage and insult not only to Christians, but people of all faiths, that this memorial site to our veterans and fallen war heroes would be desecrated by removal of a universally recognized symbol of sacrifice just because one atheist was upset about it. We will continue our legal fight to save the cross. A quick answer to the current legal challenge would be for the federal government to step in and take the land under its power of eminent domain. So far they have remained silent.”
Continued Thompson, “The Cross and memorial honors those Americans of all faiths who have given their lives to preserve our religious freedom; we are now called upon to do whatever it takes to prevent the courts from destroying the Cross that symbolizes our religious heritage and their sacrifice.”
Rob Muise, a Law Center trial counsel who has authored many of the pleadings in this case, indicated that further legal action will be taken to preserve the cross and memorial. Said Muise, “Friends, comrades, and family members of thousands of our fallen veterans have chosen the Mt. Soledad memorial as a place to honor and remember their fallen heroes. As a former Marine officer and veteran of the first Persian Gulf War, I am sickened by the thought of the pain that these court decisions must be causing for these grieving families. Our veterans deserve better than this.”
In December 2004, as a result of legal research and urgings by the Thomas More Law Center, Congress and the President designated the Mt. Soledad Cross, the land on which it stands, and the granite memorial walls surrounding it a national veterans memorial. The congressional action authorized the Department of the Interior to accept a donation of the property. The Secretary of the Interior would administer the Memorial as a unit of the National Park System, giving the Mt. Soledad Memorial Association the right of continued maintenance of the Cross and surrounding granite memorial walls and plaques.
However, despite widespread support, the San Diego City Council declined to make the donation. As a result, a religiously diverse, grass roots organization, “San Diegans for the Mt Soledad War Memorial,” headed by Jewish businessman Philip Thalheimer, obtained more than 100,000 signatures on petitions, calling on the council to reverse its decision. In response, the City Council opted to place the question authorizing the transfer as Proposition A on the July 2005 special election ballot.
Plaintiff Paulson’s attorney filed a second lawsuit, this time in state court, seeking to stop the vote. Despite the fact that the ballot proposal passed by an astonishing 76% of the vote, State Court Judge Patricia Cowett ruled that Proposition A violated the California constitution. Her order is being appealed as well.
Federal Court: Public School Children Not Allowed to Recite Pledge
Wed, Jun 21, 2006
ANN ARBOR, MI – The Thomas More Law Center, a national, public interest law firm, has filed a friend of the Court brief seeking reversal of a decision striking down the voluntary recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance by public school children in California because the Pledge includes the phrase “One Nation, Under God.” The decision was rendered late last year in the second lawsuit challenging the Pledge brought by nationally known atheist Michael Newdow.
In striking down the Pledge, federal district court judge Lawrence Karlton held that he was bound to follow the decision in Newdow’s favor rendered by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in 2002–even though the Supreme Court had reversed the Ninth Circuit in 2004. When the Supreme Court’s reversed the Ninth Circuit it held that federal courts should not reach the merits of Newdow’s first challenge to the Pledge because that challenge was advanced on behalf of Newdow’s daughter and Newdow’s right to represent his daughter’s interest were doubtful under California law. In reaching its decision, the Supreme Court did not address the constitutionality of the Pledge, leaving that issue for another day. In the aftermath of this reversal, Newdow filed a second suit on behalf of himself and others, which produced the ruling now on appeal to the Ninth Circuit.
Patrick T. Gillen, who wrote the brief for the Center, called Judge Karlton’s reliance on the Ninth Circuit’s earlier opinion as “plainly wrong” and noted that it undermined the authority of the Supreme Court. According to Gillen, when Karlton erred he gave binding effect to a “deplorable decision at odds with the history and traditions of our nation as well as the more enduring and cogent principles used to interpret and apply the Establishment Clause.”
The Center’s brief concluded that the Ninth Circuit should consider Newdow’s challenge as if writing on a blank slate and conclude that the voluntary recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance does not violate the Establishment Clause simply because it contains the phrase “One Nation, Under God.” The phrase does not represent an establishment of religion but simply acknowledges the common conviction that this nation exists under God, a conviction that engendered the very protection for religious liberty that Newdow and the other Plaintiffs enjoy.
Richard Thompson, President and Chief Counsel of the Law Center, commented, “Ironically this God-given freedom expressed in the Pledge of Allegiance is what endows Mr. Newdow with the right to voice his opinion that there is no God.”
Newdow, a practicing physician as well as lawyer, has directed his legal energies towards removing all religious expressions from the public square. In addition to his challenges to the Pledge, Newdow has sued to remove our national motto, “In God We Trust” from U.S. currency, prohibit the President from ending his inaugural oath with “So help me God,” ban invocations at inaugural ceremonies, and prevent Congress from hiring legislative chaplains.
Federal Judge Dismisses Case Challenging National Motto
Tue, Jun 13, 2006
ANN ARBOR, MI – A California federal trial judge has dismissed the lawsuit filed by Michael Newdow challenging the constitutionality of our national motto, “In God We Trust.” Newdow is the atheist who achieved national attention in his previous unsuccessful attempt to remove the Pledge of Allegiance from public schools because it includes the words “one nation under God.”
The Thomas More Law Center, a national public interest law firm based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, had filed a friend of the court brief seeking the dismissal of Newdow’s national motto lawsuit.
Edward L. White III, the Thomas More Law Center’s trial counsel who submitted the friend of the court brief, commented: “Our national motto does not have the constitutionally impermissible effect of establishing a religion. Rather, it acknowledges our nation’s rich religious heritage, which informed the founding of our nation.”
The federal trial judge ruled that the national motto has nothing to do with the establishment of a religion. The judge noted that the use of the national motto is patriotic and has no true resemblance to a governmental sponsorship of a religious exercise.
Thomas More Law Center Asks Ninth Circuit To Halt Destruction of the Mt. Soledad Cross
Tue, Jun 6, 2006
ANN ARBOR, MI – Today, the Thomas More Law Center, a national, public interest law firm, filed an urgent motion in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, seeking a stay of Federal District Court Judge Gordon Thompson’s May 3 order to the City of San Diego to remove the Mt. Soledad Veterans Memorial cross within 90 days or face fines of $5,000 per day. Unless the Ninth Circuit stays this court order, the City will be forced to remove the cross by August 1.
The Law Center’s motion was filed on behalf of San Diegans for the Mt. Soledad National War Memorial, the organization responsible for Proposition A, a hugely successful referendary petition drive that transfers the memorial to the federal government. In a special election held in July 2005, Proposition A passed by an overwhelming 76% of the vote. However, a state court judge recently issued an order halting Proposition A, claiming that it violated the California Constitution. Atheist Philip Paulson, the one who challenged the cross in the federal lawsuit, is also challenging Proposition A in the California courts.
Richard Thompson, President and Chief Counsel for the Law Center, commented, “This case is reaching a critical stage, and we are exhausting all legal options to save the Mt. Soledad Veterans Memorial, which includes the centerpiece cross. It would be a gross miscarriage of justice for the Ninth Circuit to allow the destruction of the cross without considering how changed circumstances since 1993 when the court upheld the injunction have impacted the legitimacy of that decision.”
The Law Center is asking the Ninth Circuit to stay the order to destroy the cross pending the resolution of the constitutionality of Proposition A. That transfer could render Judge Thompson’s order ineffective because the City will no longer be responsible for the memorial cross, it will belong to the federal government. This case is in the California appellate courts, and the Law Center is involved in that action as well. The Law Center is also asking the Ninth Circuit to halt the destruction of the memorial cross so that the court can consider changed circumstances that demonstrate the constitutionality of the memorial.
Charles LiMandri, the West Coast Regional Director for the Law Center, commented, “It would be unjust for the Ninth Circuit to allow the destruction of the memorial cross without considering the impact of Proposition A and the changed circumstances that warrant a reversal of the decision to remove it in the first instance. We will continue to press the fight and are hopeful that justice will prevail.”
For further information on the Mt Soledad Cross controversy you may visit the Thomas More Law Center website at www.thomasmore.org.
Thomas More Law Center Seeks Supreme Court Review Of Court Decision Allowing California Public School To Teach Twelve Year-olds How To Become Muslims
Mon, Jun 5, 2006
ANN ARBOR, MI – The Thomas More Law Center, a national public interest law firm based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, has requested that the United States Supreme Court review the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals’ decision holding that it is constitutional for a California public school to engage in a three week intensive course for seventh graders on how to “become Muslims.”
For three weeks in 2001, impressionable twelve-year-old students were, among other things, placed into Islamic city groups, took Islamic names, wore identification tags that displayed their new Islamic name and the Star and Crescent Moon, which is the symbol of Muslims, were handed materials that instructed them to “Remember Allah always so that you may prosper,” completed the Islamic Five Pillars of Faith, including fasting, and memorized and recited the “Bismillah” or “In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate,” which students also wrote on banners that were hung on the classroom walls.
A California federal trial court and the Ninth Circuit determined that these practices did not violate the Constitution.
According to Richard Thompson, President and Chief Counsel of the Thomas More Law Center, “This case cries out ‘double standard.’ The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals is the same court that held our Pledge of Allegiance unconstitutional because it contained the phrase ‘under God,’ and yet they allow a three week intensive course on how to become Muslims, including class memorization of Islamic prayers and participation in Islamic religious rituals.
Edward L. White III, the Law Center’s trial counsel handling the case, commented, “Although a public school may teach about religion, the school district here went far beyond an explanation of the historical or literary significance of Islam and placed these seventh graders into the position of becoming trainees in that religion. These young children were indoctrinated in Islam, which the Constitution forbids.”
It is anticipated that the Supreme Court will decide whether to review this case within the next few months.
Parents of Fallen War Hero To the President: Save The Mt. Soledad Cross
Tue, May 23, 2006
ANN ARBOR, MI – “There is no better place to honor our fallen heroes than under that cross, overlooking the country they fought and died to preserve.” These were the words of the parents of Marine Captain Michael D. Martino who was killed in action in Iraq, contained in a May 15, 2006 letter to President Bush, urging him to save the Mt. Soledad Cross.
On November 2, 2005, Captain Martino was killed when his Cobra helicopter was shot down by a surface-to-air missile. This past week, Captain Martino’s Camp Pendleton Unit—a Marine air squadron that had just recently returned from Iraq—dedicated plaques at Mt. Soledad to honor him and his fellow pilot, Major Jerry Bloomfield, for their heroic service. Over three hundred fellow Marines stood in line for over three hours to meet and pay their respects to Robert and Sybil Martino, the parents of Captain Martino.
Captain Martino’s father told the Thomas More Law Center, “I cannot express the sincere feeling of emotion we felt for our heroes and those Marines. We were truly glad that there was a place where you felt such peace under the cross, which overlooked the beautiful country they died to protect.”
“In bitter irony, the very freedoms Captain Martino and Major Jerry Bloomfield died to protect are being perverted by the ACLU and atheists to deprive them and their grieving families the honor and solace they deserve,” said Richard Thompson, President of the Thomas More Law Center, a public interest law firm based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, which has been working around the clock to save the Mt. Soledad Veterans Memorial.
Law Center trial counsel Robert Muise, a former Marine officer and veteran of the first Persian Gulf War, commented from first hand experience, “I am deeply moved by the sacrifices made by men like Captain Martino and the thousands of others in our armed services. I have witnessed them myself. Unfortunately, while these brave men and women are heroically fighting to protect our Constitution, the ACLU and activist judges are taking it apart. For the sake of our fallen veterans, we must fight to keep this memorial intact. Our veterans deserve it.”
As a result of a lawsuit brought by atheist Philip Paulson, with the help of the ACLU, on May 3, 2006, Federal District Judge Gordon Thompson ordered the City of San Diego to remove the cross within 90 days or face fines of $5,000 per day. The removal of this cross and the concomitant destruction of this national veterans memorial will be a national tragedy and an affront to the many proud Americans who gave the ultimate sacrifice for this Country. One grieving family’s story tells it like it is.
The May 15, 2006, letter urges President Bush to take the Mt. Soledad Veterans Memorial under federal ownership and preserve the cross. The letter stated, “Our son loved his country and the many rights and liberties it provided . . . . Our son died with a strong belief that he was fighting to preserve the freedom of all Americans. Please let us have OUR freedom from activist judges and their personal interpretation of our Constitution.”
For further information on the Mt Soledad Cross controversy you may visit the Thomas More Law Center website at www.thomasmore.org. Please sign the petition on the website urging President Bush to save the Mt. Soledad Cross and Veterans Memorial.
Federal Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act Defended In The United States Supreme Court
Mon, May 22, 2006
ANN ARBOR, MI — The Thomas More Law Center, a national public interest law firm based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, has submitted a brief with the United States Supreme Court supporting the Federal Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003. Joining the Thomas More Law Center in the friend of the court brief are the Catholic League and the National Pro-Life Alliance.
The appeal to the Supreme Court involves a decision by the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit in Nebraska that found the federal Act to be unconstitutional. Two other federal courts of appeal, the Second Circuit in New York and the Ninth Circuit in California, have also ruled the Act unconstitutional.
The Act bans the abortion procedure wherein an unborn baby, generally 20 weeks or longer in gestation, is removed from her mother’s womb, except for the head. The doctor punctures the child’s head, sucks out the child’s brains in order to collapse the skull, and then removes the dead child from the mother.
According to Richard Thompson, President and Chief Counsel of the Law Center, “Partial-birth abortion is nothing other than infanticide, and this barbaric procedure must be stopped.”
In the brief, the Law Center exposes the rhetoric of the pro-abortion movement, which is designed to distract the public and the courts from the reality that each time an abortion is performed, a human life is destroyed. As medical science demonstrates, life begins at the moment of conception, and abortion advocates have tried to blur this reality in an attempt to sedate the public into believing that the atrocity of abortion is acceptable.
Edward L. White III, trial counsel with the Thomas More Law Center, explained, “In our brief, we request that the Supreme Court find the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003 to be constitutional. We also request that the Supreme Court take this opportunity to reconsider and reject its ‘abortion rights’ decisions, such as Roe v. Wade. The time has come for the Supreme Court to stop the grave injustices that have resulted from those decisions.”
The Thomas More Law Center is currently involved in several other pro-life initiatives, including defending the State of Michigan’s statute banning partial-birth abortions, and a petition drive for a Michigan constitutional amendment that defines a person as existing from the moment of conception and thus protected by Michigan’s Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses. The Thomas More Law Center was also involved in the 2004 South Dakota attempt to criminalize abortions and directly confront Roe v. Wade, an attempt that lost by one vote in the South Dakota legislature.
Thomas More Law Center Takes Legal Action to Save the Mt. Soledad Cross
Thu, May 18, 2006
ANN ARBOR, MI – The Thomas More Law Center, a national, public-interest law firm based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, has filed papers in the U.S. District Court in San Diego, California, asking Federal District Judge Gordon Thompson to allow them to intervene in the case challenging the display of the Mt. Soledad cross. The motion to intervene is the first step by the Law Center towards an appeal and stay of Judge Thompson’s order to remove the Mt. Soledad Cross within 90 days.
The San Diego City Council is scheduled to vote next week on whether they will appeal Judge Thompson’s order to remove the cross.
The Law Center filed the papers on behalf of the San Diegans for the Mt. Soledad National War Memorial, an organization that was formed in March 2005 to save the national