U.S. Government Defends Mojave Desert Cross

Jun 1, 2009

Photo by Eric Reed

Today (June 1), in a brief filed in the Supreme Court in Salazar v. Buono, the United States government defended the constitutionality of the 75-year old Mojave Desert Cross, which memorializes World War I veterans. The government argued that the case should be dismissed because the plaintiff has not been personally injured or denied any rights by the presence of the cross; he merely claims to be offended by it.

"Stripping this country of every symbol-even the religious ones-that might offend somebody somewhere will impoverish American culture," said Eric Rassbach, National Litigation Director of the Becket Fund, which is filing a brief in the case. "The First Amendment guarantees the right to speak and believe freely; it does not guarantee the right to silence those who disagree with you."

Salazar v. Buono, commonly called the Mojave Desert Cross case, deals with whether a 75-year old cross memorializing World War I veterans can remain within what is now a federal preserve. The district court initially ruled that the cross had to be removed. Congress then enacted legislation directing the Department of Interior to transfer an acre of land, including the cross, to the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) in exchange of a parcel of equal value elsewhere in the preserve. The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit then permanently enjoined the government from implementing the Act. The cross was initially ordered to be covered in a burlap sack. When the sack blew away, the court ordered the cross to be covered in a plywood box.

"If the Supreme Court strikes down this memorial, tens of thousands of memorials around the country stand at risk," added Rassbach.

Brief for Petitioners

Ninth Circuit Opinion

The Becket Fund is a non-profit, non-partisan public interest law firm that defends the free expression of all religious traditions.