In June the Supreme Court ruled that a 40ft war memorial cross on public land in suburban Maryland did not violate the Constitution. But in doing so, it extracted a steep price.
The American Legion erected a monument (pictured) to the First World War dead of Prince George’s County in 1925; a state parks commission has administered the site since 1961. Three plaintiffs and the American Humanist Association sued to remove the Peace Cross in 2014, arguing that the monument was an unconstitutional establishment of religion. The 4th US Circuit Court of Appeals ruled for the plaintiffs, prompting an appeal to the Supreme Court.
