Salazar v. Buono

130 S.Ct. 1803 (2010)

Purchase the Printed Copy at bsmsphd.com

Nature of the Case

To access this section all you need to do is click here and register.

Facts

Sunrise Rock is a granite outcropping located within the Mojave National Preserve. In 1934, members of the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) mounted a Latin cross on the rock as a memorial to soldiers who died in World War I. The cross has been replaced or repaired at various times over the years, most recently in 1998 by Henry Sandoz. Sandoz is a private citizen who owns land elsewhere in the Preserve, a portion of which he is prepared to transfer to the Government in return for its conveyance to the VFW of the land on which the cross stands, all pursuant to the statute now under review. All signs have since disappeared, and the cross now stands unmarked. Buono (P) claims he is offended by the presence of a religious symbol on federal land. He filed suit alleging a violation of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment and sought an injunction requiring the Government to remove the cross. The court's order in Buono I (2002 injunction) permanently forbade the Government 'from permitting the display of the Latin cross in the area of Sunrise Rock in the Mojave National Preserve.' The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit stayed the 2002 injunction to the extent that it required the cross to be removed or dismantled but did not forbid alternative methods of complying with the order. The Government covered the cross, first with a tarpaulin and later with a plywood box. On appeal, the judgment of the District Court was affirmed, both as to standing and on the merits of P's Establishment Clause challenge. The Supreme Court granted certiorari.