Court rules Utah highway crosses unconstitutional

WASHINGTON — An appeals court ruling that said highway crosses erected to honor fallen Utah state troopers are unconstitutional could prompt additional challenges in other states, legal experts said. The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Aug. 18 that the 12-foot crosses violate the Constitution’s Establishment Clause, which prohibits government endorsement of religion. “We hold that these memorials have the impermissible effect of conveying to the reasonable observer the message that the state prefers or otherwise endorses a certain religion,” the court ruled, overturning a lower court decision. The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, which argued in favor of the crosses on behalf of Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico and Oklahoma, said the case could have repercussions beyond Utah. “In the wake of this decision, any privately-erected religious memorials on government property in those states could be vulnerable to a court challenge,” the organization said in a statement. The Becket Fund said the case is likely to be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.