Supreme Court Backs 40-Foot Cross in Maryland Intersection
- Court votes 7-2 to let cross remain as World War I memorial
- Ginsburg, Sotomayor dissent, say cross violates Constitution
The World War I memorial cross in Bladensburg, Maryland.
Photographer: Eric Baradat/AFP via Getty Images
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The U.S. Supreme Court said a 40-foot cross can continue serving as a war memorial in a busy Maryland intersection, a ruling that bolsters the government’s power to display religious symbols on public property.
The justices, voting 7-2, rejected contentions that the monument, in the Washington suburb of Bladensburg, represents an unconstitutional government endorsement of Christianity. The concrete memorial was erected almost a century ago to honor 49 local men who died in World War I.