San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders and City Attorney Mike Aguirre today praised a state appeals court ruling in the Mt. Soledad Cross case.
The ruling published today by the 4th District Court of Appeals in San Diego overturned a State Superior Court judge.
The mayor and city attorney say the upshot of the ruling is to validate a public vote to give the Mt. Soledad War Memorial to the federal government.
The case has dragged on for years – challenging the constitutionality of having a Christian cross on city land.
Aguirre says the strength of the appeals court opinion makes it likely that the city is no longer accountable for the cross.
Michael Aguirre: It's possible, it's always possible that you could have a review by the California Supreme Court, but I would say that it's less likely that that will happen and more likely that this will become the final finding.
While this settles the issue in state courts, similar challenges remain active in the federal courts. It remains to be seen whether today's ruling affects the outcome of those lawsuits.
