Cross Gets a Limited Reprieve

SAN DIEGO —  In the best legal news that defenders of the cross atop Mt. Soledad have received in years, the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday delayed its removal until legal appeals in the state and federal courts are resolved.

Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, acting on a petition filed by the city, also suggested that the high court might hear the case when the appeals are completed. He added that the court might be influenced by the fact that Congress has passed legislation permitting the cross to be designated a national war memorial.

“I’m excited for San Diego,” said Mayor Jerry Sanders, who has pledged to save the cross.

The city had been facing an Aug. 2 deadline to remove the 43-foot-high cross or pay $5,000 a day in fines.

After 17 years of litigation between the city and an atheist who objects to the cross, a federal judge in May found the cross violated the constitutional separation of church and state, and ordered it removed.

San Diego voters have twice voted to keep the cross, but the courts have struck down a sale of the public property beneath it as rigged in favor of groups promising to retain the cross. An appeal on that issue is pending.

City Atty. Michael Aguirre said he found it revealing that Kennedy, in his four-page order, continually referred to the cross as a war memorial.

The city has long contended that the cross is not merely a religious symbol but rather a memorial to military personnel killed in war.