Thank you Supreme Court

From CNN:

Court: Cross doesn’t violate separation of church and state
The Supreme Court has ruled a white cross, erected as a war memorial and placed on national parkland in the California desert, does not violate the constitutional separation of church and state.

The 5-4 majority concluded Congress acted properly when it tried to transfer land around the Mojave Memorial Cross to veterans groups, an effort to eliminate any Establishment Clause violation. A federal appeals panel had blocked that property swap.

At issue before the justices was whether the display fundamentally violates the first ten words of the Bill of Rights: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion.”

I was working on my other case today, but this is a big win. I played a very meager role on this, but it pleases me to no end.

Jonn Added: Some TAH background on the story from May and August last year. TSO is too modest – his contribution was more than he’ll admit.

TSO Added: Here is the money shot that is easily read by non lawyer types:

The District Court did not attempt to reassess the find-ings in Buono I in light of the policy of accommodation that Congress had embraced. Rather, the District Court concentrated solely on the religious aspects of the cross,divorced from its background and context. But a Latin cross is not merely a reaffirmation of Christian beliefs. It is a symbol often used to honor and respect those whoseheroic acts, noble contributions, and patient striving helpsecure an honored place in history for this Nation and its people. Here, one Latin cross in the desert evokes far more than religion. It evokes thousands of small crosses in foreign fields marking the graves of Americans who fell in battles, battles whose tragedies are compounded if the fallen are forgotten. Respect for a coordinate branch of Government forbidsstriking down an Act of Congress except upon a clear showing of unconstitutionality.

BTW- That is almost exactly what Tim said in the comments, so maybe I will ask Obama to name him to the Supremes.

ALSO: Allahpundit covered it here, and I think he misses a point in there that is important. Regarding Stevens approach, AP says:

I take his point — honoring Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist troops, etc, with a cross is rather insufficiently nuanced — but if the worry is observers feeling influenced by the display, how does Stevens justify the religious symbols on the headstones at Arlington? There’s theoretically no government endorsement problem there since servicemen get to select their own insignias, but (a) it is federal land and (b) seeing so many crosses associated with such valor, even with stars of David and crescents mixed in, is more powerful than some puny cross in the desert.

Actually, there are numerous “unknown” graves in federal cemeteries (mostly overseas) that have crosses over them. I always felt they would be the next target, since (contra what AP says), those buried underneath clearly did not “get to select their own insignias”. Also, the WWI memorial in Arlington is a Latin Cross as well. The ACLU always promised us when we asked than they would not go after gravestones, and everytime I asked if that included the unknown ones overseas, they were silent. I wonder why that was….

Also, you can read The American Legion’s press release here. (Disclaimer: I aided in writing portions of it.)

The whole Supreme Court enchilada below the jump;

Salazar v. Buono, No. 08-472

Category: Liberals suck, Support the troops, Usual Suspects