MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST: It is June, and that means the U.S. Supreme Court is issuing decisions and winding up its term. Today, the nine justices weighed in on the separation of church and state. By a 7-2 margin, the court ruled that a 40-foot cross, a World War I memorial in Maryland, can stay on public property and be maintained with public funds. NPR legal affairs correspondent Nina Totenberg reports. NINA TOTENBERG, BYLINE: In all, the justices produced 87 pages detailing their views. But when the dust settled, a few things were clear – longstanding cross-shaped war memorials like the one in Bladensburg do not have to be removed to private land and maintained with private funds. But it’s unlikely that similar new memorials will be OK’d. David Strauss is co-editor of the University of Chicago’s Supreme Court Review. DAVID STRAUSS: If something has been around for a long time, and especially if it was originally put up for nonreligious reasons, but in this case to commemorate a war, it can stay up. TOTENBERG: ACLU Legal Director David Cole called the decision deeply disappointing. DAVID COLE: The establishment clause was designed to ensure that government remain neutral among […]
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