American Legion v. American Humanist Ass. (17-1717)
argument 17-1717American Legion v. American Humanist Ass.
Supreme Court of the United States
1h 13m
7 speakers
8 chapters
transcribed 7 days ago
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Transcript
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What is the historical significance of the Peace Cross memorial?
You'll hear argument this morning in case seventeen seventeen seventeen, the American Legion versus the American Humanist Association. And number eighteen eighteen, the consolidated case. Maryland National Capital Park and Planning Commission versus the American Humanist Association.
Mr.
Catio?
Thank you, Mr. Chief Justice, and may it please the court. There are four important facts about the memorial at issue, the Peace Cross, that explain why it should not be dismembered or destroyed. First, families in the Legion built it ninety three years ago to commemorate forty nine brave souls who gave their lives in World War One And it has stood for since that time without challenge. Second, it's no ordinary cross. At its center, in its heart, are the American Legion symbol. It's gigantic. And at the base, in four cap huge capital letters, are words valor, endurance, courage, devotion. Third, not a single word of religious content appears anywhere. Rather, the base has a nine foot plaque Listing the forty nine names with an inscription to them.
And fourth, the monument is situated in V Veterans Memorial Park alongside other war memorials. Do you
know how many other parks are like this one? I've looked at pictures and this is an unusual park because there's major highways. dividing it up. It's almost as if the city artificially designed an area that's huge. to encompass other Wax. And declared it a park, but you can't really tell that this cross is with anything else. There's three or four six lane highway on one side, there's another highway on the other. I'm told you can't even get off the highways to walk to this cross.
Oh no, you actually can. I've done it. There's parking and so on. So I I I disagree with that representation. I the Veterans Memorial Park has been there for a long time. The record shows at least since nineteen eighty three. So this isn't like McCreary in which there's some pretextual stuff added later. All right. And
you said dismember or destroy. You can move it. We could transfer the land to private entities, correct? Well you
could uh y th those would be hypothetically possible, but the record shows that the So is
destruction and and anything else. Well,
Justice Otomar, the record this is the Court of Appeal Depends Joint joint appendix six twenty three and fifteen eighty five say if you move it because of the cracks in this cross, it very well may be destroyed. And give it back to the Legion as our p as our petition reply brief at page twelve points out, they have an email in this case saying they know that Maryland can't do that because of the traffic concerns. They can't give it to a private entity. The Maryland brief before this court also makes it.
But putting that aside, um Are you relying on the fact that at all. That at least one brief claims that all forty nine soldiers named on this plaque or for whom this plaque were were Christian?
Not at all, Your Honor. We think this c memorial from start to finish has been about honoring those forty nine plus all World War One veterans.
Are you just grandfathering this or are you claiming that today Um, let's say for the Vietnam War. that any government, local or state, could build across Forty feet high. Not put any emblem on or some sectarian emblem and say we are dedicating this to all the soldiers who have died in the Vietnam
War? So we're not at all saying that grandfathering or anything like that. This case, because of its ninety three year tradition, is an easy one. And for reasons Justice Breyer said,
what is the tradition? is the tradition that Um in World War two a cross was used Or is the tradition that the government can put up sectarian symbols like crosses or a picture of Jesus Christ. in honour of anyone. Because that's within the nation's tradition.
So Justice Samiro make two different arguments. One is with respect to this cross, which has stood for 93 years, 86 of them without challenge, and for reasons Justice Breyer's opinion and Van Orden said and the buono plurality, that would make this cross constitutional. Now your question is: well, what about this tradition of crosses in general?
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What is the historical significance of the Peace Cross memorial?
0:00–8:49
2
How do the parties argue whether the cross has a secular versus religious meaning?
8:49–17:31
3
What legal tests (Lemon, Town of Greece, coercion) are being proposed for this case?
17:31–26:48
4
How does the discussion address the possibility of moving, transferring, or destroying the monument?
26:48–37:42
5
What role do historical tradition and precedent (Van Orden, Buono) play in the arguments?
37:42–48:48
6
How do the justices differentiate between war memorials, religious symbols, and secular displays?
48:48–58:12
7
What are the implications of applying the endorsement test versus the coercion test to similar monuments?
58:12–1:05:04
8
What potential remedies (removal, relocation, private ownership) are suggested and how might they affect future cases?
1:05:04–1:13:51