Legal Pad

Cross Still Standing in Mojave Desert

[Cynthia Foster]

A divided U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that a cross, honoring fallen soldiers, can remain standing in a national park.

The cross, installed in 1934 by private citizens in Mojave National Preserve, was the subject of a case that rose through the courts in many years of litigation.

Congress circumvented an early ruling by declaring the cross a national memorial and turning the land over to a veterans group. A district court later issued an injunction against against the land swap, which the group appealed.

The Supreme Court ruling reversed the injunction and the Ninth Circuit's confirmation, and rejected the notion that the First Amendment calls for a black and white separation of church and state. Justice Anthony Kennedy, who authored the opinion, called for a "middle ground" on the issue.

For more on this story, check out Cal Law later tonight.

Governor Endorses Lawsuit, Legislation In Face of Teachers Unions' Outcries

[Cynthia Foster]

Gov. Schwarzenegger has thrown his support behind a lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union against Los Angeles Unified School District, in addition to endorsing Republican-authored legislation aimed at giving school districts more authority to fire teachers. 

According to The LA Independent, Schwarzenegger both announced his condemnation of LAUSD's recent firings, which the ACLU says targeted teachers at schools that serve lower income communities, and introduced legislation that would give more control back to the districts because "it is unacceptable that school districts cannot determine their staffing based on the needs of students."

The legislation has been criticized by the California Teachers Association and other teachers unions. They say it is just a method for removing teachers' rights to a hearing in the event they are fired.

The lawsuit, filed back in February, says that districts like LAUSD need more authority to circumvent procedures like that of seniority-based firing in order to ensure that layoffs aren't adversely affecting certain schools over others. To read more about the lawsuit, check out LA Legal Pad.

Costa Mesa Yields to Day Labor Group

[Cynthia Foster]

The Orange County city of Costa Mesa has said it will not enforce its anti-solicitation ordinance that critics (including the ACLU) say targets day laborers.

City officials have agreed to a moratorium, pending a decision from the Ninth Circuit on a similar ordinance in Redondo Beach. The ACLU, and several other civil rights organizations, filed a lawsuit last month to bar the city from enforcing the ordinance.

From the OC Register:

"They know they are going to lose," said Naui Huitzilopochtli, a member of Colectivo Tonantzin, a day laborer advocacy group. "The day laborers are happy that they settled for the moment."

Colectivo Tonantzin is also seeking damages and attorneys' fees from the city.

Berkeley Law Grad Takes on Prop 209 in Federal Court

[Kate Moser]

Since he was an undergrad at UC-Berkeley, Ronald Cruz has been fighting against Proposition 209, which barred California universities from giving preference for race and gender in making admissions decisions.

Having graduated from Berkeley Law last year and admitted to the state bar in December, Cruz is now the California attorney of record on a legal team challenging the law with a lawsuit filed yesterday in the Northern District, according to the Associated Press.

“I’ve seen how Prop 209 has created a hostile environment on the campus for underrepresented minority students,” said Cruz. He added that he’s known as a “lawyer-activist” around campus.