Term: 2009
Docket: 08-472
Ken L. Salazar, Secretary Of The Interior, Et Al. v. Frank Buono
- Pro
08-472 SALAZAR V. BUONO DECISION BELOW: 527 F.3d 758 CERT. GRANTED 2/23/2009 QUESTION PRESENTED: More than 70 years ago, the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) erected a cross as a memorial to fallen service members in a remote area within what is now a federal preserve. After the district court held that the presence of the cross on federal land violated the Establishment Clause and the court permanently enjoined the government from permitting the display of the cross, Congress enacted legislation directing the Department of the Interior to transfer an acre of land including the cross to the VFW in exchange for a parcel of equal value. The district court then permanently enjoined the government from implementing that Act of Congress, and the court of appeals affirmed. The questions presented are: 1. Whether respondent has standing to maintain this action where he has no objection to the public display of a cross, but instead is offended that the public land on which the cross is located is not also an open forum on which other persons might display other symbols. 2. Whether, even assuming respondent has standing, the court of appeals erred in refusing to give effect to the Act of Congress providing for the transfer of the land to private hands. LOWER COURT CASE NUMBER: 05-55852
The U.S. Supreme Court case Salazar v. Buono, 2009, revolved around a dispute over the constitutionality of a cross erected on federal land in the Mojave National Preserve to honor American soldiers who died in World War I. Frank Buono, a former National Park Service employee and devout Catholic, argued that the presence of this religious symbol violated the Establishment Clause of First Amendment which prohibits any law respecting an establishment of religion. The government attempted to resolve this issue by transferring ownership of the land surrounding the cross to a private party while maintaining its status as part of national memorial commemorating U.S veterans. In April 2010, by a 5-4 decision led by Justice Anthony Kennedy, it was ruled that Congress's proposed transfer did not violate constitutional principles and could proceed; thus allowing for preservation of monument without breaching separation between church and state principle embedded within Constitution.
In the dissenting opinion for Salazar v. Buono, Justice John Paul Stevens argued that the government's transfer of land to a private party did not resolve the Establishment Clause violation. He believed that this action merely changed the form of the violation rather than eliminating it entirely. The cross was still displayed on public property and maintained by public officials, which he saw as an endorsement of Christianity over other religions or non-religion by government entities. Furthermore, he criticized how Congress had designated this specific piece of land as a national memorial honoring veterans who served in World War I, arguing that such designation only furthered its religious significance and thus continued to violate constitutional principles separating church and state.
